High School Fiasco
by Tawny the Baka
Summary: The Naruto gang has got homework, tests, and studying to do in school. What could make matters worse? Love, of course. No one ever said that it was going to be easy-at least not in high school, where a little something can go a long way.
1. Another Usual School Day

Hinata Hyuuga sat in the back of her father's car, shivering. She was wearing a puffy, cream colored jacket, over her casual clothes, its hood lined with fuzz. She hadn't wanted to wear such a showy coat, but her father and younger sister, who had picked out the jacket themselves, had insisted on it, especially since it was a freezing day in Konoha. Her cousin Neji, who was sitting next to her in the car, had only agreed with the jacket, even though he knew Hinata would not like it, for fear that she might catch a cold.

She sighed, and leaned back against the leather seat. She gazed out the window at the busy streets, already lined with people hurrying to work early this chilly morning. She caught some of them glancing up at the Hyuuga's fashionable, shiny black car as it passed, and smiled for they knew the Hyuuga's luxury vehicles well enough by now.

"Hurry up you two, or I'll be late to school," Hinata's sister Hanabi said as the two fifteen-year-olds collected their backpacks and climbed out the door. "See you later, guys."

"Have a nice day," said Hinata's father right before they closed the door. The two cousins smiled, and then left.

Hinata and Neji walked through the frozen school grounds silently, listening to the conversations of those gathered around the campus in little huddles, with people talking about this and that. Hinata rubbed her hands together in a desperate attempt to keep her hands warm.

"You didn't bring your gloves, did you?" asked Neji.

"N-no," Hinata shivered. Neji dug into his black hoodie's pocket and retrieved a pair of black gloves and handed them to her. "B-but they're yours, nii-san," Hinata protested.

"I won't be needing them."

"But—" Neji shoved the gloves into her hands, just as they heard a pair of footsteps behind them. They turned to see Sakura Haruno running up to them.

"Hi Hinata! Hey there, Neji!" she gasped for breath.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan," said Hinata, happy to see her friend. Neji nodded his head towards Sakura in greeting.

"Man, is it cold! I shouldn't have listened to that stupid Ino-pig," complained Sakura. "She tells me it's going to be warm today, and I'm wearing a tank top under this jacket!" She pointed to herself. "Ah, and here comes the stupid brigade now." They saw Ino Yamanaka, wearing a similar jacket like Hinata's, except plaid, dark jeans and white flats, chitchatting with Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki as they walked towards them.

"Good morning, everyone!" Naruto cried cheerfully when they reached them. He was wearing a bright orange zip-up jacket with jeans and black shoes.

"G-good morning, N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata managed to stutter, a pink tint now covering her pale face.

"Sheesh, do you have to be so loud in the morning?" asked an irritated Shikamaru, poking his ear as though Naruto's outburst had somehow deafened him.

"I know, really," said a voice from somewhere behind Sakura. They turned again, and there stood Sasuke Uchiha, wearing a grey sports jacket, black pants, and black shoes, along with Tenten, who was wearing a red jacket, red scarf, jeans and white shoes at his side. "I could hear the idiot right when I got out of the car."

Naruto scowled at the Uchiha, who was, nevertheless, his best friend.

"Good morning, guys," said Tenten, just as the bell rang. "So…we getting to class or what?"

* * *

Hinata sat in between Sakura and Ino in first period math. Sakura and Ino were quietly arguing with each other about the fact that Ino had made a mistake about the weather, with Hinata listening and agreeing with both sides, but all three girls, nevertheless, taking notes on what they were learning. Meanwhile, in the classroom next door, Naruto was doodling on Shikamaru's math paper, while Shikamaru, not noticing Naruto's vandalism, dozed off. And, in the classroom across the hall, Tenten, Neji and Sasuke were seated together, with Neji making slight jokes at the messy bun Tenten had tied her hair into, and Sasuke attempting to ignore them completely as he worked diligently on a quadratic problem.

* * *

Second period came along quickly, with Neji, Tenten and Sakura in one class and Sasuke, Ino and Shikamaru in another.

Second period was pure torture to both Hinata and Naruto.

They were best friends, just as they were to the rest of the group, so of course they always naturally sat next to each other in history class. But what Naruto didn't know was that poor Hinata became faint whenever he'd scoot next to her in order to copy her notes or whenever he turned to face her in class discussion. And, what Hinata didn't know was that poor Naruto couldn't help but keep his gaze upon her so much that just the previous day their teacher had caught Naruto off guard and said, "Mr. Uzumaki, I know Miss Hyuuga must be fascinating to observe, but let me assure you that the French Revolution was indeed just as fascinating!" Poor Naruto's eyes had widened at the comment, and he quickly faced the board as the other kids in class began to jeer and giggle. Usually, whenever he found himself watching her intently and she turned his way, he'd pretend he had been playing with his pencil. Of course, innocent Hinata noticed none of his suspicious actions. And so, history for them droned on in happiness and yet, nervousness.

In third period science, Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke were together, with the others all in another class. They had an arranged seating chart, with Hinata in the first row, and right behind her Sasuke. Behind Sasuke and a few seats down the row sat Sakura. This seating chart annoyed Sakura. She wanted to be closer to her friends…especially Sasuke. She wished she had Hinata's seat, but they had a strict teacher and there was no use in hoping to convince him to move her somewhere in the front row, preferably beside Hinata. Perhaps then there was a chance of capturing Sasuke's attention…?

Sakura contemplated her thoughts of how she could somehow grab Sasuke's attention while she scribbled down notes. _Hmm…it would be obvious that I'm trying to show off if I take off my jacket in this weather…besides, it's cold…_She bit her lip. Surely there were some way to appeal to him? She sighed and looked over to the boy himself. There he was, in his usual posture, swinging the pencil in his right hand in boredom, his spiky black hair firmly in place, and his gaze on…Hinata? Sakura frowned. Yes…he was watching Hinata, not the teacher. And Hinata was watching the teacher and obviously trying to digest all that he was saying into her mind.

This wasn't the first time Sakura had seen Sasuke watching Hinata. She couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable and envious whenever she caught Sasuke looking at Hinata—which, these days, seemed to be all the time. She sighed once more, and this time was loud enough to cause the guy on her right to curiously turn his head. She realized this and sent him a death glare to keep him from staring at her. The boy immediately turned away again, and a sweat drop appeared on his face.

_Maybe I'm just being paranoid…_thought Sakura. _But still…Hinata is a really nice girl and a great friend…and she's pretty, too…Why wouldn't someone like Sasuke fall for her?_ Ah well. She honestly didn't know why she herself seemed to want to impress Sasuke so badly. After all, they were only friends, weren't they? Good friends, yes, but nothing more. But then why did she always want to find him and make sure he actually _saw_ her? Why did she start putting more make-up on and wore skirts like Ino more often? Could a single person actually cause this in a person? Did she really like Sasuke? Or was it his looks that seemed to attract his fans? Was she becoming a fan girl, too? She shuddered. She would never stoop that low. She found being a fan girl rather sad, with all the stalking and picture taking and whatnot.

Sakura looked back up to Sasuke and Hinata. His attention was now to the teacher, who was showing them how to correctly do their newest experiment. Again she felt jealousy hit her when she remembered that Sasuke got to be in Hinata's group, for that was the way the lab groups worked. For what seemed like the hundredth time, she sighed, made the guy look over at her again, sent him the death glare once more, and again caused him to sweat drop. Then she and her group began their lab activity. _Hinata…you're rich, live in luxury, have an awesome and quite a good looking cousin, and people seem to be falling for you all over the place._ She smiled to herself as she set up test tubes when she thought of the actions Naruto did when near Hinata and the reactions which she made in return. It was rather amusing to watch as these two nervously looked at each other and smiled and ate lunch uncertainly. She found it apparent that Naruto had feelings for Hinata since he was too much of an idiot to be able to hide it well, and just as obvious for Hinata. But, she never told a soul, for fear that her theory was not correct at all and that perhaps Hinata would rather keep that issue private.

* * *

After third period was finally over, the three met up with the rest of their friends and together proceeded to core class, for they had the same teacher. They sat in their usual spots altogether in a group, and the boys' fan girls slipped into seats where they would get a perfect view of Shikamaru, Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke.

"Man, I wish I had at least half the fans you have, Shikamaru," said Ino, raising an eyebrow at a girl who seemed to be creating a flag which so far read "Shik."

Shikamaru groaned. "How troublesome," he mumbled, as he laid his head on the desk lazily.

Ino rolled her eyes. "So…" she turned to the others, "how was class?"

"Not bad," lied Sakura.

"Yeah, it was fine," said Tenten, leaning back in her chair. "Don't you think so, Neji?"

"Hn."

"Whatever."

"It was nice," said Hinata, smiling (at this moment, Sakura, Tenten and Ino caught Naruto give a slight blush, most likely because of Hinata's smile; they all smirked to themselves). "Sasuke-kun fixed our experiment without us having to tell Morino-sensei, and so we didn't get in trouble." She smiled at him.

"Yay, Sasuke," said Naruto glumly, looking to where Sasuke was reading a book that he was supposed to have read.

"Oh, so that's what the commotion was," said Sakura.

"So, how was _your_ day?" Ino asked Sasuke, eyeing him.

"Hn."

"Is that all guys can say? Don't they have a sense of vocabulary whatsoever?" asked Ino, irritated.

"Hn."

"Good grief."

"HEY! I had a good first three classes!" cried Naruto loudly.

"Well, good for you," said Ino.

Sakura laughed. Naruto scowled at Ino.

"You dope, can't you ever keep quiet?" said Sasuke, looking up from his reading. "If your stupid head didn't get this already, I'm reading."

"I'M NO DOPE!" yelled Naruto.

Sasuke groaned. Shikamaru looked up. "Naruto, shut up."

"Why don't you?"

"Ughhh." Shikamaru lay back down.

"What book is that anyway?" asked Naruto, peering at the cover.

"Gee, I dunno, maybe the one our English teacher gave us all," said Sasuke sarcastically.

"Oh…which one is that?" asked Naruto confusedly.

Sakura and Ino slapped their heads. Sasuke sighed and went back to reading. Shikamaru began to snore. Neji shook his head. And Hinata giggled. Meanwhile, Naruto dug through his extremely messy backpack, throwing out ancient papers and trash out onto the table.

"Ew, Naruto!" said Sakura, watching as the heap of trash piled up.

"Do you _ever_ clean your backpack?" asked a wide-eyed Tenten.

Ino looked on in amazement. "Wow…you know, he might have broken the world record."

Tenten and Sakura fell over their chairs anime style and a sweat drop appeared on Neji's face. "There's a flipping world record for the amount of TRASH in someone's backpack?" shrieked Tenten.

"Well, yeah," said Ino matter-of-factly, as though everyone in the world should have known.

"AHA!" shouted Naruto suddenly, causing the group to jump back in their seats. "I FOUND IT!" He grinned goofily. "Wait…I don't think I started—CRAP! CRAPPITY CRAPPITY CRAAAAPPP!" He yelled, and then flipped to the first page.

Everyone stared at him. The bell had rung about ten minutes ago, and just then Kakashi stepped through the door. "YOU'RE LATE!" the students cried.

"Naruto, you really should stop screaming," he said, ignoring his pupils. "But, then again, I'll give you an A for now, since you reminded me that I have a class to run."

"WHAAAT?" the class cried. "You're giving it to the idiot?!" (The Naruto fan girls cheered happily.)

"Well, yes," Kakashi said simply. "If he hadn't yelled, I wouldn't have gotten my head out of this book."

"Wait…" said Sakura slowly. "Kakashi-sensei, where exactly were you all this time?"

"Me? Standing outside the door of course. I was reading; it got really interesting. I would recommend that you all read it, but I won't say anything until you're all eighteen."

The class was merely silent. Until Hinata sneezed.

"Bless you," said Hinata's friends.

"Thank you."

"Bless you, Hinata-chan," said Naruto politely.

"Th-thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata blushed, but to Naruto, her nose was only pink because she had sneezed.

Sakura took out her binder in order to finish some homework. As she flipped to her math section, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Sasuke.

He was watching Hinata again.

**

* * *

**

So, what did you think? I hope it was all right for my first fanfic. Please review!

**-Tawny**


	2. Blossoming Feelings

The rest of the gang's periods went by quickly. After core, they all had P.E. Since it was raining, some of the teachers decided to allow their classes to simply have free time rather than having to suit up in P.E. clothes and run around.

Hinata and Sasuke did not have that type of teacher. Their teacher insisted on dressing up and running circuits inside the gym, for he believed that just sitting inside a classroom and doing nothing would defeat the purpose of having a physical education class. And so, poor Hinata and Sasuke, along with their classmates, were ordered to meet inside the gym after suiting up, while Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Neji (who was secretly worried that Hinata might get sick), Naruto (who was secretly wishing he could be in Sasuke's place right now), and Shikamaru headed to a nearby classroom to stay warm.

Sasuke stood near the center of the gym in his P.E. shirt and shorts, indifferent to the cold temperature and completely ignoring the many fan girls that were crowded in a corner behind him. Some guys went over to him and asked him to play ball with them while they waited for their teacher. Sasuke merely said "No, thank you," and instead strode over to where Hinata had just arrived from the girls' changing room, wearing sweatpants and a shirt. "So," he said.

"So…" said Hinata, pressing her fingers together, "d-did you finish the book, Sasuke-kun?"

"Nah," said Sasuke coolly. "I'll finish it next period. We don't do much in video anyway."

"Ahh…true. Just make sure you finish it. We might have a pop quiz in English."

"Yeah, probably."

The two stood there in silence for a moment. _It feels so weird to talk to __Sasuke__-kun these days…_thought Hinata, biting her lip. _Our conversations don't last as long anymore…Maybe…he hates me?_ She gulped. But why would he hate her?

"So…Hinata," said Sasuke, turning to her. "What do you think about…me?"

Hinata looked at him in surprise. That question was uncalled for. "Umm…what do mean, Sasuke-kun?"

"Well, you know…what do you—HEY!" Sasuke took a step forward and raised his arm. Hinata gasped as she heard a loud smack. She turned and saw a soccer ball bouncing on the floor. She looked back up and saw that Sasuke's arm was slightly red. "Watch where you kick that thing!" he called in annoyance, kicking it back to them.

"Sorry about that," apologized the boy who caught the ball. He then walked back to his friends.

"S-Sasuke-kun! A-Are you all right?" asked Hinata worriedly, and she took Sasuke's arm in her hands and inspected the red mark (while the fan girls began to shout at the boys who had kicked the ball, telling them what would have happened if their precious Sasuke had gotten hurt).

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat at Hinata's touch. _Her hands are so small and soft…_He growled to himself. _What is this feeling…? Why am I like this…?_ He sighed, and Hinata looked at his face, her expression worried and slightly terrified.

Sasuke chuckled. "Stop worrying so much."

"Y-You're all right?"

"And why wouldn't I be?"

Hinata smiled and released her hands from his arm. Sasuke silently cursed himself for telling her that he was all right. If he hadn't, her gentle hands would have still been on his…

Sasuke shook himself from his own little trance and asked again, "So, what do you think of me, Hinata?"

"U-umm…well," she smiled at him again. Sasuke felt his heart ache at her smile, but he ignored the feeling. "I know that you are very protective…just like Neji-nii-san. If you hadn't done that…t-then I would have been knocked out." She bowed slightly to him. "Th-thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke's eyes widened, but then he said, "Ah, Hinata, get up. It was nothing."

Hinata rose and smiled once more. "You are a very nice friend, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke felt as though he had just been slapped on the face. _Friend…just like __Neji__…but nothing more._ He shook his head. _What the heck is wrong with me? What do I care what she thinks? She's just…just…_He looked back at Hinata's kind face. He couldn't help but smile back at her, right when their teacher blew his whistle.

* * *

After P.E. the gang sat down at a table together for lunch. Naruto let out a big yawn. "I think your laziness is contagious, Shikamaru," giggled Ino.

"Hehe," said Naruto. He looked up to see Sasuke and Hinata coming to join them. He started to laugh.

"What's with you, dope?" asked Sasuke.

"He forgot to take his meds, that's all," said Neji, smirking.

"Hey…" Naruto frowned at Neji.

Neji shrugged.

"_No_, I was only laughing on account of Sasuke having had to do P.E. Haha!" He stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.

"Yeah, it's a shame that he had P.E. with Hinata…both of them…_together_…without any of us around…" Tenten teased.

Hinata turned pink. Sasuke scratched the back of his head. Sakura sighed, and Ino noticed. Shikamaru and Neji each took a bite of their burgers, watching everyone as though it were some movie.

"Ehh…" said Naruto, frowning. He realized that Hinata was blushing. His eyes widened.

"Oi! Sasuke, what did you do to Hinata?!" cried Naruto.

"Eh?" Sasuke looked at him.

"N-Naruto-kun…?" Hinata looked at him in confusion.

"Hinata-chan, stop blushing! You're miiii—" He stopped talking abruptly and turned red.

Ino, who had been drinking a coke, choked and then snorted with laughter. Sakura laughed, too, at what had just happened, and then said to Ino, "And you wonder why I call you a pig."

This extra bit caused the whole table to laugh, and the other surrounding students turned around to stare curiously. Sasuke realized that there was a boy, about a year younger than him, standing behind him, staring, and holding a lunch tray in his hands. "You want something?" Sasuke snapped at the kid, who was rather short.

The boy looked at Sasuke's menacing face in fright, and then rushed away.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, you didn't have to do that," said Hinata, watching the boy go back to his own table.

"Eh?" said Sasuke in confusion. "But he was staring!"

"W-Well we _were _the ones who made him stare in the first p-place," said Hinata.

Sasuke sighed. Naruto nodded his head, his arms folded, in agreement. "Yeah, what she said!"

Hinata blushed, but, as usual, Naruto didn't notice, whereas the girls did, and they giggled among themselves.

* * *

The last two periods of school the entire gang had together. They all had chosen video class as their elective for the sake of being together, and luckily, they had all ended up in the same class.

Today their assignment was to create a film that could be used to educate youngsters about relationships. _Perfect,_ thought Sakura evilly. She laughed maniacally.

"Uhh…Sakura-chan, are you ok?" asked Naruto nervously.

"Oh, I'm _quite_ all right, Naruto," said Sakura, unusually sweetly, with an evil smile on her face.

"Uhh…" A sweat drop appeared on Naruto's face.

"All right, let's get this over with," grumbled Shikamaru. "The camcorder's ready." (They had all allowed Shikamaru to be their cameraman due to the fact that he was too lazy to do any acting.)

"So…where should we start?" asked Sasuke.

"Well…" said Tenten, who smirked at Ino who smirked at Sakura who smirked at an unknowing Hinata.

Hinata looked at her friends uncertainly. "Uhh, g-guys?"

"All right, so, let's have, oh, I don't know, Hinata and maybe, uhh…" Sakura pretended she was considering who to put up there on set with Hinata.

Both Sasuke and Neji (who we know is very protective) stepped forward voluntarily to act alongside Hinata. Neji gave Sasuke a questioning look. Sasuke merely shrugged.

Sakura ignored both of them and said, "Hmm…how about, uh, Naruto?"

"Why him?" demanded both Sasuke and Neji.

"Why not me?" asked Naruto, who was secretly eager to work with Hinata. "Besides, don't you have a book to read?" Naruto eyed Sasuke.

"Yeah? And what about you?" asked Sasuke.

"Me? I read already!"

Sasuke gaped at him. "What the he—"

"Spark notes and skimming the book works," sighed Ino, her hand on her forehead. "He snuck onto the computer while the teacher was sleeping during P.E."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Wish I had your teacher…you know how Gai-sensei is..." he muttered.

Naruto laughed innocently. "Hey, I read _most_ of it," he protested.

"Yeah? And how much is 'most'?"

"Uhh…" Naruto began to count his fingers.

Sasuke slapped his head. "What a dope."

"No comment," said Tenten.

"Dunce," said Neji.

"BAKA!" screeched Sakura, bonking Naruto on the head.

"Oww! Sakura-chaaan, that hurt!" whined Naruto.

"It's what you get for being so stupid," said Ino.

"A-Are you all right, N-Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata worriedly.

"HAI, Hinata-chan!" Naruto perked up immediately. "I am strong! Much stronger than Sakura-chan! I can take it! Yeah!"

"What was that?" Sakura glared.

"N-Nothing!" Naruto shrunk.

Hinata, Tenten, and Ino laughed.

"Can we get this over with?" groaned Shikamaru, who was tired of standing.

"All right, Hinata and Naruto, on set, please!" directed Sakura cheerily.

Hinata pressed her fingers together as she went in front of the camera. Naruto gulped and joined her.

"All right, so…how about…this?" Tenten handed Hinata a piece of paper with lines written on it. Naruto leaned in to read it as well. Hinata felt her body begin to fret as she felt his presence.

The two read over the lines uncertainly, reviewed it individually, and both sighed when they felt they were ready. Hinata bit her lip, but nevertheless agreed to act the scene out, especially because of the encouragement and persuasion from the other three girls. Naruto didn't receive much encouragement from the guys, but he still took a deep breath and nodded in consent. Shy little Hinata's own bravery had motivated him: if she could do it, then so could he, right?

"All right then, scene one—" Sakura called.

"How to properly start a relationship!" interrupted Ino.

"Take one, and action!" said Tenten.

"Hey, I was supposed to say that!" Sakura scowled at them.

The two girls giggled, and then everyone tuned in to watch their performers, just as Shikamaru hit the record button.

Naruto cleared his throat, and then approached Hinata. "H-Hello, Hinata-chan," he said, nervousness evident in his voice.

"H-Hello, N-Naruto-kun," stuttered Hinata.

"Erm…uh…I just thought I ought to tell you…that, umm…" Naruto scratched the back of his blonde head. "I…I…" _Why the heck is this so hard? I'm acting…only acting…_He cleared his throat once more, and then lifted his head so that his eyes were staring into Hinata's.

Hinata gave a small gasp as she felt herself falling into Naruto's blue eyes…_Why do I feel this way? It's only acting, __afterall__…_

"Hinata…I…I really like you," Naruto began, new confidence in his voice. "And, I-I was just wondering…" He continued to look into her clear eyes. "If you know, you'd like to, you know…go out with me?"

Neji nearly jumped out of his seat. "Shh! Calm down, will you?" whispered Tenten. "This is just acting…and it's getting good!"

Neji grumbled and sat back down. "Pretty realistic to me," he mumbled.

Hinata was just about to faint. Naruto waited for her to say her line, but it didn't come. Though he didn't know that she was feeling faint, the girls noticed. Sakura was about to call cut, until Hinata finally, to the relief of Naruto (for to him the situation seemed quite real, and so a no response from Hinata would be a rejection to him, even if it were only acting), spoke up.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered. She was shaking slightly, from the pressure of Naruto's eyes on hers, and from the closeness of his presence. "I-I…I w-would love to go out with you." She gave him a weak smile.

Naruto's heart melted. He unconsciously stepped slowly towards her…closer…and closer yet… "Hinata-chan…" he said softly.

Hinata's eyes widened at the nearing of his body, but her own body would not move, nor would her eyes escape from his.

_If only this were real…_both Naruto and Hinata thought, and that's when they both gave a start and realized what they were doing. "Uhh…uhh…" Naruto thought a moment. Crap. He had forgotten his line. _What was it…oh, __right. _He smiled at Hinata and gave her his arm. "Shall we, Hinata?"

Now it was Hinata's turn to feel her heart melting. She smiled back and took his arm, and both blushed as they felt their direct contact. "Y-Yes."

And with that, the two strolled off the set.

The others were in shock. Or more of in a trance. Sakura gaped. So did the boys. Tenten sniffled, and handed Ino another tissue. Ino blew her nose, and then suddenly shouted, "That was BEAUTIFUL!" She clapped her hands in delight. "You guys would make a perfect couple in real life!"

Neji and Sasuke glared at her. "Hehe…whoopsies," said Ino.

"But really, guys, excellent job!" cried Tenten happily. "It wasn't that long, but it was _so_ dramatic!"

"Yeah, really," smiled Sakura. "You guys are perfect actors."

"Or more like perfect lovers," whispered Ino loudly to Tenten. They giggled.

"Uhh, hahaha," laughed Naruto nervously, scratching the back of his head, and looking down to hide his blush.

"I-It was n-nothing," said Hinata, who was still pink.

"Riiight," said the girls.

"What's that supposed to mean?" inquired Neji.

Before Neji could get his answer, their teacher, Shizune, suddenly burst into the room. The kids jumped in surprise. "Well, you guys are making quite a commotion. I suppose that means you're done with the assignment."

"Well, actually—" started Sakura.

"Excellent! Come on now, we're all going to present what we have so far." And so Shizune led them back to the classroom. "All right everyone, all groups go up one by one, please."

All the groups presented, and they obviously progressed on their work more than Naruto's group had. Sakura sighed. "We are so screwed," she said as another group sat down.

"Don't say that now," said Tenten. "We're going up now!"

And so they played their film. The Naruto fan girls quietly complained. Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru's fan girls seemed satisfied enough. Sakura kept her watch on her teacher's face, which was expressionless.

_"H-Hello, __Hinata-chan__."_

_"H-Hello, N-__Naruto__-kun._

_"__Erm__…uh…I just thought I ought to tell you…that, umm…I…I…" _

Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen.

_"__Hinata__…I…I really like you, and, I-I was just wondering…if you know, you'd like to, you know…go out with me?"_

_"__Naruto__-kun…I-I…I w-would love to go out with you."_

_"__Hinata__-__chan__…"_

By now, everyone was at the edge of their seats, eyes wide with suspense.

_"__Uhh__…__uhh__…" _

A moment of silence.

_"Shall we, __Hinata__?" _

_"Y-Yes."_

The group sighed with relief. Their clip was finished…or so they thought, until they heard familiar voices come from the screen…

Everyone heard sniffling, and then someone blowing their nose really hard…and then Ino's voice: _"That was BEAUTIFUL!"_ The sound of clapping hands._ "You guys would make a perfect couple in real life!__" _A pause. _"Hehe…whoopsies."_

Then Tenten's loud voice: "_But really, guys, excellent job! It wasn't that long, but it was _so_ dramatic!"_

And Sakura's voice: _"Yeah, really. You guys are perfect actors."_

_"Or more like perfect lovers,"_ whispered Ino's voice loudly. The sound of giggling.

_"__Uhh, __hahaha__,"_ laughed Naruto's voice.

_"I-It was n-nothing,"_ said Hinata voice.

_"__Riiight__"_ said the girls' voice.

_"What's that s__upposed to mean?"_ inquired Neji's voice.

And then the "End of Tape" sign read on the screen. The entire class gawked. The group stared, their mouths open, and then they turned slowly to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru..." said Ino slowly, with menacing face, "...didn't you stop the taping after Hinata and Naruto walked off?"

"Hmm…apparently not." Shikamaru put his arms behind his back. (Apparently Shikamaru had been so mesmerized at Hinata and Naruto's acting that he forgot to press the stop button at the right time.)

"I can't believe you! Naruto's idiocy must be rubbing off on you, you moron!" hissed Tenten.

"All of that unnecessary stuff at the end," moaned Sakura, placing her face in her hands.

"Wow," said Neji.

"How sad," said Sasuke, placing his hand on his forehead. "Yep, we totally blew this one."

"Oh, shut up, Sasuke," said Sakura sadly. "This is _so_ gonna affect my grade."

Hinata and Naruto were simply blushing the whole time—that is, until a certain teacher suddenly cried, "THAT'S IT! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR! THIS CLEARLY EXPRESSES THE TEENAGE RELATIONSHIP LIFE OF THIS ERA! IT DISPLAYS LOVE, UNCERTAINTY, AND PEER PRESSURE! EXCELLENT WORK, ALL OF YOU! A PLUS!" Shizune appeared to have tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

"N-No way…" said Naruto's group in unison, staring wide-eyed at their crazed teacher, just as the complaints, angry comments, and crying noisiness erupted from Naruto's fan girls.

**

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**

So, this was the second chapter. Hope you liked it! Please review!

**-Tawny**


	3. Brother to Brother

After filming class, the Naruto gang made their way to their final period of the day, English, and sat down in their usual seats. "Man, can you believe Shizune-sensei?" said Ino wildly. "I can't believe she gave us a passing grade for that one!"

"I know, really," said Sakura and Tenten.

"Hn," said Neji and Sasuke, who had irritated expressions on their faces.

"Oh? And what's bugging you two?" questioned Shikamaru as he lay his head down on the desk.

"Nothing" was the response. Tenten couldn't help but laugh. "I _so _know what this is about."

Sakura merely groaned and laid her own head on the table miserably. Ino nudged Tenten, whose eyes widened as she said, "Oops."

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata were quiet. A pink tint still covered Hinata's face. Naruto stared at the floor. An air of tension hung over the group as their English class droned on.

And, as soon as it had begun, it was over.

* * *

Naruto yawned loudly as the gang walked towards the parking lot. "Man oh man, did that class take forever! English must be the most boring and longest class of them all."

"And would you prefer it if another class instead would be longer? Let's say…video?" asked Sakura.

"Well, yeah!" Naruto began to daydream about the events of video class that day.

"And may I ask why you would prefer it over the other courses?"

"Uhh…well, it's not as hard. I don't gotta think. You guys do that for me." He grinned.

"Anything else…?" Sakura pressed on.

"Uhh…" Naruto scratched his head. "Hmm…nope!"

Sakura giggled. "If you're sure…"

"Well, here comes my ride, early as usual," sighed Sasuke. "Later."

"Later, Sasuke."

"Yeah, later."

"See ya."

"Bye."

"See you tomorrow."

"BYE SASUKE!" Naruto waved his hands in the air.

Sasuke groaned. "Have a nice day, Sasuke-kun," said Hinata kindly.

"Hn…" He strode off to his brother's silver sports car. "Do you always have to be so early?" asked Sasuke as he entered.

"Well, if I'm late you complain, and now that I'm early, you still complain. What is it now?" asked Itachi as he drove.

"Grr…nothing."

"Oh, come now, little brother. I know you well enough by now. Something's going on. Did Naruto embarrass you in front of the whole school again?"

"Well yeah, that too…"

"Then what is it, exactly?"

"Nothing." Sasuke leaned his head against the window, staring outside dreamily.

"Sasuke? Tell me what's wrong."

"Just leave me alone."

"Don't make me stop this car."

"You wouldn't—"

Itachi swerved and stopped abruptly on the side of the street. A couple of cars honked behind him, but he ignored them. "Well?" he demanded.

Sasuke sighed. "You enjoy torturing me, don't you?"

"Mmm, always have, always will."

Sasuke scowled, but then reclined against the leather seat. "It's…personal…and complicated," he added warningly.

"I'm all ears."

"Well…" Sasuke fidgeted. "Have you ever liked a girl before?" he suddenly burst out.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so _that's_ what this is about," he said, then smirked.

"Well, have you?"

"Ah, let's see…no, not really," admitted Itachi, shaking his head.

Sasuke gaped. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Well, actually there was one, I believe…" said Itachi, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he stared up at the roof of the car. "I have to say, I had a lot of girls on my tail during high school…and only one of them was I interested in. She was sweet and kind, not to mention gentle…all in all, she was quieter and shyer compared to the other girls. I guess I liked that about her. She didn't go all out to please me. She remained herself." He paused. "I found out through several sources that she liked me _very_ much…"

Sasuke groaned, for it seemed like his brother was over-exaggerating. But, nevertheless, he listened attentively to what he had to say.

"At first I didn't know who the girl was in the first place, due to the fact that she was so quiet…but once I figured out who she was, I began to watch her more carefully, and that's when I couldn't help but develop feelings towards her…"

"Stalker."

"What?"

"You were watching her carefully. That means you were a stalker."

"Sasuke, those are both two entirely different things—"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Not!"

"TOO!"

Sasuke just groaned again. "Whatever."

"AS I WAS SAYING, PESKY LITTLE BROTHER," said an annoyed Itachi rather loudly, so much that a child passing by looked up to stare at the two in the car, "I liked her and she liked me. And you know what? I asked her out. And we dated. She was wonderful." Itachi sighed.

Sasuke stared, waiting for the rest, which did not follow. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"What happened?"

"Oh. That. She fell for some idiot named Tamaki…and therefore left me. But I respected her wishes. Besides, she didn't do it rudely. She politely explained the situation, and I know that her telling me the truth was better than her cheating on me. And so off went that girl out of my life. Her name was Nadeshiko by the way…ah, lovely name."

Sasuke burst out laughing. "Haha! You got dumped, you sore loser."

Itachi scowled. "You are a horrible, inconsiderate younger brother!" He then sighed. "Remember a couple years back when I locked myself in my room and you said I was behaving like a child?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"That was because of…you know–the break up."

"…Oh." Sasuke paused. "HAHA! Dude, you really are pathetic." Sasuke laughed.

"ANYWAYS, with that now being cleared up," said Itachi over Sasuke's laughter, "it's your turn, little brother. Is your girl as wonderful as mine was?"

Sasuke immediately stopped laughing. "How did you feel when you fell for her?" he asked his older brother quietly.

"Hmm, let's see…I couldn't keep my eyes off of her, for one thing. And…I always wanted to be around her. She sent my heart aflutter, and I did the same to hers, if that's what you want to hear."

"Wow. Way to go, Romeo."

"And you?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. "I…I think it's true then…I…really do like her."

"Really now? And who may this 'her' that you are referring to be?"

Sasuke grumbled.

"Well?"

Sasuke mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?"

"I think I like…"

"Uh-huh…"

"…"

"…"

Sasuke let out a deep breath.

"WOULD YOU TELL ME ALREADY?!" cried Itachi.

"AND WHY WOULD I DO THAT?!"

"BECAUSE I AM YOUR OLDER BROTHER, THAT'S WHY!"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT I HAVE TO TELL YOU, YOU DUMPED MORON!"

"THEN WHAT WAS ALL THAT COUNSELING FOR, YOU BRAT?"

"FOR HELP AND GUIDANCE, THAT'S ALL!"

"AFTER ALL THAT ADVICE I DECIDED TO GIVE TO YOU OUT OF THE KINDNESS OF MY OWN HEART, YOU STILL WON'T TELL ME WHO YOU'RE CRUSHING?"

"GEE, YOU CATCH ON PRETTY QUICK, OH WISE ONE!"

"SEE THAT? YOU FLARE UP TOO EASILY, SASUKE! WITH THAT TEMPER, IT'S NO WONDER THAT GIRL YOU LIKE DOESN'T APPEAR TO RETURN YOUR FEELINGS!"

"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE ASKING FOR HELP, DUMMY! YOU WOULDN'T NEED HELP IF YOU WERE ALREADY GOING OUT WITH HER! FACE FACTS, SASUKE! YOU'RE TOO AFRAID TO TELL ANYONE!"

"AFRAID MY ASS!"

"GET OUT OF MY CAR!"

"GET OUT OF MY _LIFE!_"

And with that, Sasuke snatched his backpack and practically ran out the door, not even bothering to shut it behind him, as Itachi stared, stunned, after him.

* * *

The ice cream parlor was on the same street. Sasuke automatically sought refuge there. Just as he absentmindedly stormed inside, he ran into some unexpected company as he bumped into a certain pinkette, who was carrying a strawberry ice cream cone—until, of course, Sasuke ran into her and caused it to fall onto her shirt. "Hey, watch it buddy!" said an onlooker. Another said, "Yeah, what's his hurry?"

"Oh—agh, I'm sorry—Sakura?" Sasuke looked at the pink-haired girl who was already wiping away the mess with some napkins. The few people who stared walked away. Sasuke grabbed a few more napkins to hand to her.

What he didn't know was that in this random encounter with Sakura, he would wind up telling her everything.

**

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**

How was it this time? Hope you enjoyed it!

**-Tawny**


	4. In the Ice Cream Parlor

"Oh, Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

"Geez—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Oh, no harm done!" said Sakura reassuringly, as Sasuke offered her some more napkins.

"Ugh—I'm such a…" Sasuke shook his head, and Sakura looked up at him questioningly. "Here—what flavor was that?"

"Uhh…strawberry. Why?" asked Sakura as she disposed of the napkins.

"I'll go buy you another one."

"Wait, no! Sasuke, you don't have to—"

"Are you trying to make me feel bad?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke sighed, and looked at the fresh stain on Sakura's jacket. "Really, just let me buy you one. Just go find us a seat."

"Oh—uhh, all right," said Sakura uncertainly, as she headed over to an unoccupied table by the window.

Sasuke soon came to join her with a strawberry cone in one hand and a vanilla cone in the other. "Why are you eating ice cream in this weather, anyway?" he asked as he sat down.

"Erm, uh," Sakura hesitated. "I-I should be asking you the same question. What brings you here anyway? Shouldn't you be with your brother?"

"I don't want anything to do with that idiot."

"Umm…ok?"

"Ice cream makes me feel better, that's all," stated Sasuke simply.

"Oh…same here…" said Sakura unusually quietly.

Sasuke looked at her. "Feeling bad?"

"Erm…kind of, I guess…"

"Why? You seemed happy enough at school today."

"Well, yeah…there's just a lot of stuff going on, that's all…"

"Oh. Fretting about homework?"

"I-I…guess…"

"Hm. Well, you shouldn't. After all, you have the best grades out of all of us. I don't see why you're worrying." Sasuke eyed his ice cream.

"Y-yeah…you're right." Sakura smiled weakly. "Umm, but still…what about you? What could possibly be making Mr. Sasuke Uchiha so anxious?"

Sasuke looked up at her. Sakura looked back at him with caring eyes, and her polite face seemed to bring him ease. It was as if her green eyes had their own effect on him: he felt as though he could tell her just about everything. They were a pair of honest eyes. And for some reason, he knew he could trust them. Besides, if talking about his issue with his own brother didn't help, then the next closest person would be a friend, especially one whom he had known for a long time. He began to play with his ice cream, and then asked quietly, "Can you keep a secret?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. _What secret? Oh no…what if it's something…I really don't want to hear? _Sakura merely smiled. "Of course! What kind of person do you think I am?"

And with that, Sasuke went off on a rampage. A barrage of his feelings flew out of his mouth in words, and all of them seemed to slap her in the face. With every word he said about his problem, about what he felt and what had happened with his brother and the incident in the school gym…each time they came at her she could feel her heart slowly begun ripping apart.

But she kept smiling. She giggled when she heard of his feelings. _Aww…he's so cute! _And Sasuke turned slightly pink every time she did. _Man, _he thought, _does she have to laugh? _

At the end, Sasuke felt much lighter. And Sakura felt heavy, as though a thousand cement blocks had pummeled her into the ground. But she kept her cool. She smiled all the way.

"That's about it…" Sasuke mumbled. He couldn't believe he had actually spilled his secret. Why had he done so? Why had Sakura's eyes had so much effect on him, so much that he felt as though he could trust them with his feelings?

"So…" Sakura stared at him. "Well? You can say it now, you know."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

"Oh come on, Sasuke, you know what I mean! Your secret! Just say it straight out."

Sasuke was silent. Sakura could have punched him. He rambled on about his feelings, and yet he didn't exactly say _it._ He only implied it. It was evident in his words, thoughts, and feelings…but he wouldn't _say_ it. _How dare he! Does he honestly think he can just sit there and tell me about all he's been going through, and then, at the very end, not even say the three words which would practically sum it all up? At least it would make me feel less stupid, really…_

Sakura looked up immediately when she heard Sasuke clear his throat. "Erm…I…" Sasuke looked up desperately at Sakura, in a "please-don't-make-me-do-this" kind of way.

Sakura nodded for him to continue.

"I…think…that I…"

Silence.

"I…I like Hinata!"

Sakura's heart was torn. But she giggled. "See? Was that so hard?"

Sasuke, to her fascination, was pink in the face. Sure, he blushed whenever something awkward happened, as with most guys, but this time he was _really_ pink. And it pained her to know that it was Hinata who stirred this emotion in him, and not her.

"Does she know?" she asked.

"Chyeah right."

"Mind if I tell her?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "What the heck? Didn't I just say that you're the first to know? Isn't that good enough for you?" He slouched back in his seat, and grumpily popped the remains of his ice cream into his mouth.

Sakura laughed. He was pouting! And it was cute. Sasuke merely growled at this. But then she sighed, and stood up to go. Sasuke, too, stood up. "Well, Sasuke…thank you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "For the ice cream? I told you, don't worry about it."

"Well, that too…but what I meant was…thank you for sharing your feelings with me." She smiled again. "I feel honored to hear it all from apathetic Uchiha."

"Hey, watch it, Haruno," Sasuke warned, but he was smiling, too.

The two stepped out the glass doors and Sasuke sighed in relief as the cool wind hit his face. Sakura's pink hair flowed to the side as the wind blew through it, and Sasuke felt the strands tickle his face. _Hn…smells good…_

And suddenly there was a honk. Sasuke looked around and saw a familiar silver car parked at the end of the road. "No way…" he mumbled, and motioned for Sakura to follow as they approached the vehicle.

The tinted window slid down. "Hey! Little brother, it's about time you got out of there." He turned to Sakura. "Oh? And who is this lovely young lady you've brought along?" He gasped, and then said, "Is this the girl you like, Sasuke? Not bad, not bad at all…and treating her to ice cream? How sweet. I suppose you can be a gentleman if you wanted to, Sasuke."

Sakura blushed and looked down at her feet, and Sasuke cried, "What were you doing, _stalking_ me?!"

"No, of course not. I drove around the block a few times until I realized you were finally coming out." The doors clicked as Itachi unlocked them. "Well, get in. You wouldn't want her to catch a cold, would you?"

Sasuke was about to revolt and say that he was going to walk home, but felt he owed Sakura and decided that a warm car ride was a better choice than any. However, he kept his teeth clenched as he opened the door. "Here, get in, Sakura. We'll drive you home."

"Umm, uhh, ok…" said Sakura uncertainly as she stepped inside. She knew that Sasuke would persuade her somehow, and was afraid of him getting angry at her if she declined, especially since he seemed mad enough at him brother.

"And she's not the girl," said Sasuke as he entered and slammed the door.

"Oh really?" Itachi looked in the mirror. "What's your name, miss?"

"S-Sakura," Sakura said nervously.

"Ah, lovely. A flower like Nadeshiko. You must be the Haruno girl Sasuke mentions."

Sakura blushed again.

"Sasuke, she's awfully pretty. Could there possibly be a girl more fair?"

_Apparently there is,_ thought Sakura miserably.

"Hn." Sasuke turned his head to the window.

Itachi then realized that this was definitely not the right time, and could notice some strangeness coming from Miss Haruno. He decided to leave it at that, in case he broke Sasuke's temper again or somehow hurt Sakura's feelings, and then, after asking for her address, drove her straight home, and watching Sasuke escort her to the front door, thought to himself, _Ah, the lives of high school children. How twisted their paths are. _He smiled as she saw Sakura blush once more and Sasuke scratching his head. Itachi then shook his head. _I suppose all I can do is wish the best for them…and then find out who Sasuke's mystery girl is…and ponder the odd behavior of Miss Haruno. What a turn events it will be for Sasuke and his friends…__let's just hope it turns out well._He sighed. _Ah, what a high school fiasco._

**

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**

That was chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed. Review, please!

**-Tawny**


	5. Shikamaru's Bad Day

It was an ordinary day for the group of friends.

Well, except for Shikamaru.

As he and Naruto were packing up their things at the end of first period math, Haruhi, whom they knew as a smart girl but who was terribly shy around Shikamaru, stepped up to Shikamaru himself. "Umm…Shikamaru-kun?"

"Hmm?" Shikamaru looked up from his backpack.

"Umm, uhh…" She nervously pushed her glasses up her nose. "Erm, uh…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Oi! Out with it, Haruhi!"

"Um, uh, h-here!" She thrust a folded piece of paper into Shikamaru's face.

Shikamaru blinked. He took the paper, and Haruhi dashed off, her face bright pink. Shikamaru sighed. "Here comes another one."

"Eh? A note?" asked Naruto, leaning in as Shikamaru unfolded the piece of paper.

"Yeah."

"Well Haruhi is a nice girl, y'know."

"Well yeah…but she's become one of those fan girls now! Giving me a note and all…gah." He sighed again and opened the note fully and began to read.

Shikamaru-kun,

Please meet me at the entrance of the courtyard during lunch.

-Mika

"EHH? IT'S FROM THAT MIKA GIRL, SHIKA—"

Shikamaru bonked Naruto's head. "I can read, Naruto!"

"Didn't have to hit me!"

"You should keep your trap shut!"

Naruto scowled at his friend.

"Hmm," said Shikamaru thoughtfully, "I guess Mika told her to give it to me."

"Yeah."

* * *

By lunchtime, the gang was all fully aware of the fact that Shikamaru had business to attend to.

"So, you like her?" asked Sasuke as they walked out onto the outdoor lunch court.

Shikamaru looked at him. "Who?"

Sasuke stared at him.

"Oh—Mika."

"Yeah."

Shikamaru glanced around uncomfortably. "Honestly, no."

"Hn…someone else on your mind?"

"I…guess. I dunno."

They arrived at their table and sat down.

"Aren't you going to see Mika, Shikamaru?" asked Sakura.

"Ehh…must I?"

"Shikamaru! That's rude!"

He groaned.

"Hey, at least let the man eat," said Neji.

Shikamaru stared at his burger. "Ehh…better to get this over with first," he mumbled and stood up.

"Yeah! Go Shikamaru! You can do it!" cheered Naruto.

"Do what?"

"Eh? Ask her out, dummy!"

"I'm not interested, moron!"

"Eh? Wait…what?"

Shikamaru quickly fled from the table. Once he had gone, Ino slammed her fist against the table. Naruto yelled in surprise; everyone else looked up from their meals. "That stupid Mika wannabe," she hissed, so that only Sakura could hear her. "I oughtta…punch her dumb face in!"

"Chill, Ino," giggled Sakura. "He said he wasn't interested, didn't he?"

"Yeah, well…she'd better not try anything! Or else!" She waved her fist in Naruto's direction. Naruto gasped and ducked. Ino sighed. Hinata giggled.

"Someone seems angry," said Neji calmly, biting into his sandwich.

Ino glared at him. "Shut it!"

Neji glanced at Sasuke and they both snickered.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was waiting in the back of the outdoor lunch area, near the courtyard. He yawned and leaned lazily against the wall. He had just closed his eyes as a breeze brushed by, when—

"Shikamaruuuuu-kuuun!"

He winced, and hesitantly turned around. There stood Mika, beaming at him, her hands on her hips. "Oh, you're so kind to come meet me here, Shika-kun!" she said gleefully.

"Yeah." Shikamaru forced a smile onto his face. "So, uh…" He took the note out of his pocket and played with it in his hands. "Haruhi gave me this—"

"Oh, so she finally did something right, did she?" Mika shook her head, her curls bouncing, and the make-up evident on her face as it gleamed in the noon sunshine. "That idiot tripped over herself when she saw you in the halls, Shikamaru-kun. All her stuff went flying. I kindly helped her up though, silly thing. She wanted to thank me, so I told her to give this note to you, which I see she did. I felt sorry for her, so I decided that this way, she'd be able to get close to you in person if she got to hand you a note. It's too bad you hadn't helped the little klutz in the hallway, Shika-kun. She would have loved that more than anything. But, then again, she might just fall over again and drop stuff all over my dear Shikamaru. That would have been horrible!" She placed her hands on her cheeks dramatically. Shikamaru was surprised that none of her make-up smeared onto her hands, what with the massive amount she obviously painted her face with.

He shuddered. The way she talked was…strange. Weird. Disgusting. She emphasized his name too much, and he could tell her that her speech was thick with falsehood, especially with the baby-type of talking she was putting on. He could immediately tell that this girl was not to be trusted.

She sighed. "Well, Shika! I hope I've appealed to you. I'm not a bad person, really. I'm sure your friend Ino might say that a lot about me, but I'm not. I'm just your own unique, warmhearted person who'd do anything to help anybody!"

And before he knew it, Mika was hugging him. She just suddenly threw herself forward and embraced him. Perhaps in another girl's arms, this would feel better. Weren't hugs supposed to feel nice? Especially from nice girls? It felt more like Mika, a girl who obviously liked him, was strangling him. Either he hated her a lot, or she was just a horrible hugger.

He was sure it was both.

"Erm, uhh, Mika?" he asked nervously. "Mika?"

"Hmm?" She kept hugging him.

He sighed. Then he cleared his throat, and pushed her away. "Sorry, I don't think I'm ready for this. I mean—"

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru-kun," she said in a baby voice, biting her finger, trying to be cute.

Shikamaru mentally kicked himself for coming to meet Mika. Now what was it that they always said in the movies…hmm…oh. Right. "I-It's not me, it's you."

Her eyes bulged.

Shikamaru realized his mistake. "Shit—I mean—" He coughed, then said, "It's not _you,_ it's _me._" He looked up at her uncertainly.

"Oh, Shika-kuuuun! You are _so_ sweet!"

Crap. He didn't know what to do now. "Uhh—so, um, sorry, but I gotta—go." And he fled from there.

When he reached the table again, he didn't feel like eating, but more like sleeping. Everyone pestered him about his meeting, but he refused to talk about it, at least not now. So they left him alone, and for the rest of the day, he didn't mention it—until last period.

* * *

Their teacher apparently hadn't made any real lesson plans, and so told the students to brainstorm different ideas for a project based on their novel. Of course, the students took this to their advantage as they chatted away, pretending they were asking questions about the project to each other when they really weren't. And their teacher, well, he was clicking away at his computer, not caring a bit.

"Well?" demanded Ino.

Shikamaru looked up, startled. "Well what?" He then realized that his friends were all staring at him eagerly—that is, with the exception of a furious-looking Ino.

"How'd it go?" asked Tenten.

"Eh? Oh—that." He shrugged. "I told her that I wasn't ready for anything yet. And then…"

Sakura's eyes widened. "And then…?"

There was an air of suspense in the air.

"And then…I ran for it."

Everyone fell over, as they had expected much more than that.

"YES!" shouted Ino happily, punching the air.

Everyone looked at her. She blushed. "Uh—ahem—that was a good choice, Shikamaru. There's something about that girl that is just not right."

The girls giggled.

"So," he said, "I'm sure she must be a nice girl and all…but she acts so…I dunno. _Weird_, I guess. Almost like she's lying and trying to make herself look good. But hey, what do I know?"

* * *

The guys were all walking together afterschool, while the girls and run off to attend their own business. "Hey, Shikamaru," started Sasuke.

"Hmm?"

"You know, that Mika looks pretty good though, doesn't she? I mean, any guy besides you would want to go out with her."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "You like her?"

Sasuke made a gagging noise and Naruto and Neji laughed. "Not the point!"

"So, what are you trying to get at?"

"Well," said Sasuke, "you said that you 'weren't ready yet.' Does that mean you'd be happy to go out with her some other time?"

Shikamaru was silent.

"Shika—"

"I just realized something. She never actually asked me out." Shikamaru looked up from his thoughts.

"Wow," said Neji. "You must've run off before she had the chance to."

"Yeah."

"Well Shikamaru, you sure are one lucky guy, 'cause she's right over there! Go for it!" said Naruto excitedly, pushing him forward.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"Oiiii! Mika, over heeere!" called Naruto, waving his arm.

"Gah! Naruto, shut up!" said Shikamaru desperately.

Mika was coming towards them.

"She _is_ pretty," commented Neji. "And it wouldn't be a bad idea—the winter dance is coming up, you know."

"Eh? We're going to that thing?"

"Well, Naruto said it would be fun." Neji shrugged.

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"

"Well, since when do we listen to Naruto?"

Naruto scowled at Shikamaru.

"Well, it's not a bad idea," said Sasuke quietly.

Shikamaru gaped at them. "You guys actually _want_ to go to one of these things? You never bothered in middle school!"

"Well, things have changed since middle school," said Neji. "Think about it."

"Yeah!" said Naruto wildly. "And what if you don't get a date, Shikamaru?!"

"You don't need a date just to go to a dance!"

"Oh, yes you do! You—"

"Shika-kuuuuun!" cried Mika happily.

Shikamaru slowly turned around. The other three backed away and went elsewhere, Neji carefully dragging along Naruto, who wanted to watch the whole thing and was fighting against his grip.

"Mika!" said Shikamaru, smiling. He noticed that her hair was now down compared to lunchtime's pigtails. He had to admit, she might have been a bit obnoxious, but she did look nice, what with her long brunette tresses and blue eyes. And she _had _helped out Haruhi earlier, hadn't she? She couldn't have been all bad…and according to Neji, accepting would be a better decision that any, especially if they were planning to go to the winter dance…lucky for Shikamaru, that's exactly what Mika had come for.

"You went away during lunch before I had a chance to ask you!" accused Mika childishly. "Now, now, there's no need to be _shy_, Shika-kun!"

"Oh, uh, ahahaha!" Shikamaru laughed pathetically, and scratched his head.

"Well, um, I was wondering…you see, I _really _like you, so…would you mind going with me to the winter dance?" She smiled brightly.

"Er, uhh…" Shikamaru looked down. _Do or don't, do or don't…_ He sighed. Neji was right about making the smarter decision. Besides, it was just for the dance, right? And what if he _did_ end up as the only one without a date? Better now than never. "Um, sure. Why not?"

She squealed, and Shikamaru nearly placed his hands over his ears. "Oh, I knew you'd want to, Shika-kuuun! Oh, if you wanted to _that_ badly, you should've just asked!" She waved a finger in his face.

"Er, yeah…sure…"

"Well, this is great! Oh, Shika…"

"Hmm?"

She was leaning inwards, and like before, she had her arms around him again. His eyes widened. He had to think of something, quick… "Ah…ah…AH-CHOO!"

Mika quickly backed away in surprise. Then she giggled. "Oh, please make sure you get rid of that cold before the dance, all right? You wouldn't want me getting sick now, would you?" She winked at him.

Shikamaru smiled weakly, but she did not bother coming back for another hug, for fear of catching a cold. "Well then, see you, Shika-kun!" She waved and dashed off back to her friends.

Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief, and then turned back around to find his friends waiting for him at the school entrance, where he told them everything.

"All right! Way to go, Shikamaru!" shouted Naruto, slapping him on the back.

"Ow!" He glared at the ever-happy Naruto, then sighed. "So…where are your guys' dates?"

"Oh—that," said Neji, looking the other way. "Ahem…"

Sasuke looked down at his feet. "Er, well, you see…ahem…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Aha…ahahaha…"

Shikamaru smirked. They hadn't gotten anyone yet. "So…when's this dance?"

"Next week," said Neji quickly, wanting to get off the subject of getting a date.

"Well, no worries. You guys have _all_ week!" Shikamaru snickered.

The boys were silent for a few moments, until Sasuke asked Shikamaru what he really thought of Mika, whereas Shikamaru told them about how she had to be nice, since she had helped out Haruhi that morning in the hall and all. When he was done, Neji and Sasuke were frowning while Naruto had a puzzled expression on his face. Shikamaru eyed them suspiciously. "What?"

"Wow!" said Naruto. "Poor Haruhi-chan! She must have fallen over twice in the same morning!"

"Ehh?"

Sasuke whacked Naruto head. "Idiot!"

"That's very unlikely," said Neji, as Naruto held his head and began to sulk childishly. "And now that we mention it…I think I remember seeing Mika and her friends watching the whole thing—and _laughing_."

"What thing?" asked Shikamaru, confused.

"This morning," said Sasuke, "when you weren't at school yet, Neji and I were walking down the halls and we found Naruto getting a drink. Before we got to him, though, Haruhi was nearby and she tripped and dropped all her stuff."

"Yeah, and Mika said—" began Shikamaru.

"I think Mika lied," interrupted Neji, "because Naruto was the first one who ran over to help Haruhi. In fact, no one else helped at all."

"We _would've _helped," added Sasuke, "but by the time we got there, she was already thanking Naruto and walking to class again."

Shikamaru gawked at them, and then looked at the innocent Naruto. "You helped?"

"Yup!" said Naruto proudly, puffed up with pride. "She fell, so I helped her up!" Then Naruto turned sullen. "And by the way, I think Mika _was_ there, laughing, with her friends…and Haruhi told me that she tripped over something…"

"Well," Neji sighed, digging his hands into his jeans pockets, "that says it all. Mika must have used Haruhi and Naruto's incident to her advantage, pretending that _she_ was the one who helped Haruhi up…in fact, she must have been the one who tripped her in the first place."

Sasuke nodded in agreement, and Naruto looked up at Shikamaru. "Sorry, Shikamaru," he said.

"Eh? For what?" muttered Shikamaru.

"I shouldn't have pushed you to go out with her! I didn't think she was some creep…" Naruto looked at the ground in shame.

"Aw, isn't he cute," said Neji, smirking.

Naruto turned pink and then glared at Neji.

Sasuke and Shikamaru laughed. Shikamaru put his hand on the blonde's head. "You really _are_ an idiot, you know that?"

"Am not," said Naruto defiantly.

Sasuke shook his head. "C'mon—we can hang out at my house."

The four boys agreed, and once they arrived there, Shikamaru plopped onto the comfy couch and grumbled into the pillows, "_Now_ what should I do? Gah…how troublesome…"

* * *

**Hey there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me whatcha think. Thanks!**

**-Tawny**


	6. Talk About Drama

An entire week had passed now since Shikamaru had agreed to be Mika's date for the Winter Dance. That week had brought along a fresh snowfall that covered Konoha like a white blanket. It had also brought tension among the group of boys.

_Grr… I had better ask someone out quick before Shikamaru has a chance to laugh again,_ thought Sasuke desperately. _Gah… but why is it so hard to go and ask her?_

_Darn that Shikamaru for getting Mika-chan so easily! At least he doesn't have to worry about Neji throttling him… _thought Naruto hoplessly.

_That Shikamaru had better keep his trap shut… he makes it seem like asking one of them out is easy! And he didn't even have to _try_… _thought Neji in annoyance.

Meanwhile, the girls weren't as confined to their thoughts as the guys were.

"Ohh!" groaned Sakura. "I wonder if _anyone_ will ask us out!"

"I know, really," said Ino. "The guys have it so easy, with their pesky fan girls and all…gah."

"Oh come on, guys, have a bit more confidence in yourselves! I mean, c'mon, _look _at us—we're hot!" said Tenten cheerily.

"Easy for you to say," snapped Ino. "Neji already got the guts to ask you!"

Yes, it's true. Neji, being the most mature of the group, gathered up his courage and asked Tenten out to the dance, leaving Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru surprised at his sudden affection.

Now it was Wednesday, and the Winter Dance was this Friday. Naruto was beginning to freak out at how little time he had left, and Sasuke was always silently cursing himself after P.E., the period he and Hinata had to themselves, when he found himself unable to pop the question. But one thing he knew must come true: he couldn't be the last one without a date, especially if it turned out that Naruto had gotten a girl before him. And so, he motivated himself to do it today.

The girls were in the changing room, getting ready for P.E. "Oh, the dance is _Friday_!" groaned Ino. "What are we gonna _doooo_?"

Sakura sighed. "Well, we could always go without dates," she suggested.

Ino gagged. "Seriously?! No way! Nuh-uh! I am gonna prove to that stupid Shikamaru that I can get a date—and he's gonna regret accepting Mika!"

"Well, you never actually asked him, you know," Sakura pointed out, as she pulled on a sock.

"She's right," agreed Tenten. "I mean, it's not like Shikamaru knows that you wanna go out with him."

"Oh, stay outta this Tenten," moaned Ino as she sat on the bench (she was obviously annoyed at the fact that Tenten had so easily gotten a nice date).

"Hey, learn from Hinata," said Sakura, gesturing to her raven-haired friend, who was tying her shoelaces. "See how calm she is? She's isn't complaining or anything. I bet you she's gonna get a date _today_!"

"Oh, I-I probably won't get anyone, Sakura-chan," said Hinata quickly. "Not before you and Ino, anyways."

"Pshhh, see how cute she is?" said Sakura. "By the way, I think I overheard that Kenji guy in our class talking about you, Hinata," she giggled.

"Aw, how sweet," said Tenten.

Ino laughed, and Hinata turned pink.

Hinata arrived at her class's line area out on the blacktop, where the basketball courts were. Sasuke was waiting for her, as usual, but she realized that he seemed sort of out of it. He didn't even notice her approach.

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke blinked, and turned towards her. When he realized that the girl he liked was _right_ there, he couldn't help but turn slightly pink. But he quickly cleared his throat, and smiled. "Hey."

She smiled back. "You seemed out of it."

"Oh, uhh…" He scratched his head. How could he tell her that he was thinking of the best possible way of asking her out to the dance? "Erm, uhh…Hinata."

Hinata blinked, and looked at him questioningly.

"Uhh…uhh…"

"ALL RIGHT YOU BEAUTIFUL YOUNG YOUTHS, LET'S START BY RUNNING TEN LAPS AROUND THE CIRCUIT! ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

Sasuke winced at the sound of their loudmouth gym teacher, Gai-sensei. Great. He'd have to wait. Oh well. More time to think…

"Uh, I gotta ask you something after we run…"

"Oh. A-All right."

Ten laps later…

"So, S-Sasuke…kun," panted Hinata after they had run. She sniffled.

He smiled. She was just so… cute. He found himself staring at her as she stood there, regaining her energy. But he blushed when she turned back to look at him.

"You…wanted to…a-ask me something?"

"Oh—right." He ran his hand through his hair, an attempt to keep himself cool. _All right, just say it straight out…yeah…_ He couldn't believe his heart was racing like this, and the fact that he was sweating made it all the worse.

"S-Sasuke-kun? You look sick…I think you should get a drink. Sasuke-kun?"

She was so caring, so kind… and he was a coward. _Come on, just do what Neji did! And what if Naruto already has one by now? Crap! It's either now or never…_

He swallowed, and then turned his head to face her directly. Hinata's eyes widened when she realized how serious he suddenly looked.

He took a deep breath, and then forced himself to look at her eyes without losing it. "H-Hinata…" Dang. He was starting to stutter like her now… "Um, uh—I was just wondering, see…" _I sound like an idiot…_ "If you…if you'd like to go to the dance with me?"

Hinata's lips parted slightly in disbelief. Sasuke Uchiha, one of her best friends, had just… asked her to the dance?! "Umm, uhh…" She felt faint. But she couldn't just say yes. After all, wasn't it Sakura's dream to out with Sasuke? "C-Can I get b-back to you on t-that?" she whispered.

Sasuke nodded. _Crap… she's gonna say no… CRAP!_

"ALL RIGHT! WELL DONE MY SPLENDID YOUTHS! THAT'S ALL WE HAVE FOR TODAY! SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW!"

* * *

"He WHAT?!" screeched Ino. "OH. MY. GOSH. THAT'S—THAT'S—AHH!"

"Geez, chill, Ino," said Tenten. "It's just for the dance."

"S-Sakura-chan?" said Hinata softly. "I-I didn't give him an answer… I… I wanted to tell you first."

Sakura looked up at Hinata's worried face. She had felt emotionless when Hinata had given them the news, as if she was trying _not_ to care about it… but now, seeing that Hinata really did worry for her wellbeing, she could only smile.

"Hinata, do you want to go with him?" she asked.

"Well, umm…" Hinata pressed her fingers together. "I-I don't want to hurt Sasuke-kun's feelings… but…" She looked up at Sakura. "I… don't want to hurt yours, either, Sakura-chan."

"Aww…" said Tenten.

"Hinata, you are the sweetest thing," said Ino as she grabbed her backpack from the locker.

Sakura couldn't help it anymore. She rushed over to Hinata and hugged her tight. "And I don't want to hurt you or Sasuke," she said softly. She looked at Hinata's face and smiled. "You go with him, all right? Besides, I'd like to see him happy than not."

"Oh, b-but Sakura-chan, y-you'd make him happy—"

"Trust me, Hinata, a guy hates it when he's rejected."

"But, what about—"

"Me? Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Hinata just stared at her.

"Hinata, do you honestly think that I can't get a date? Yeah, right!"

Hinata smiled. "You are one in a million, Sakura-chan."

"Oh yeah? And what about you?"

"Hey! Don't forget us!" cried Ino.

"Group hug!" shouted Tenten, as the girls glomped each other.

* * *

The girls joined the guys at the table for lunch, and Hinata asked to talk with Sasuke, who had been anxious ever since his question. As the two stepped to the side, Neji narrowed his eyes after them, and nudged Shikamaru, who looked like he was about sleep.

"Hmm?"

"Did Sasuke say anything to you?" he whispered.

"'Bout what?" Shikamaru yawned.

"About _that_." Neji turned Shikamaru's head in the direction of Sasuke and Hinata. Naruto, too, was watching the scene intently.

The three boys' eyes widened when they saw Sasuke smile at Hinata—a smile that was different from his usual smiles. Then the two came walking back, with Sasuke, not being able to suppress his relief, showing it through a broad smile. Once he sat down, the girls decided to get lunch and left (and were also busy talking about what had just happened), while Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru stared at Sasuke. Sasuke looked smugly at a confused Naruto.

"Beatcha."

"Eh? At what?"

"Let's just say I got a date and you didn't."

"WHAAAT? NO WAY! WHO?!" asked Naruto wildly. "Oh, and WHY WERE YOU WITH HINATA-CHAN JUST NOW?!" he added.

"Yes, Sasuke, would you mind explaining to us what happened just now?" demanded Neji.

Sasuke sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I asked her out."

"…You what."

"You heard me. I asked her out."

"How about saying that again…to my fist?!" yelled Neji, raising his arm.

Sasuke's eyes widened, but Shikamaru caught Neji's balled fist. "Dude, relax!"

"I will not relax! He just asked my cousin out and didn't even bother telling us about it!"

"Well, what did you want? For her to not get a date and be a loner at the dance?"

Neji clenched his teeth, but said nothing.

"Tch," said Sasuke. "If you're gonna be like that, then why didn't _you_ ask her out?"

Neji's eyes flared up. He was going to kill him.

"WAIT!" cried Naruto suddenly.

The three looked at him.

"OK… first off… Neji, WHICH COUSIN?"

"Ugh, Naruto, don't be stupid," said Shikamaru.

Neji stared at Naruto. Naruto gulped. "You really don't know who we're talking about?" he asked.

"Uhh…" Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.

Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto, Neji only has one cousin who goes to this school."

Naruto frowned. "Wait—"

"Hinata, you moron," said Sasuke as he took a seat. "I asked Hinata to the dance." He then turned to Neji. "And she said _yes_."

Neji was boiling over, but when he saw the girls coming back, he kept his temper from showing. But that didn't fool the girls. They noticed how angry Neji looked, especially when Sasuke said something. And Sakura, Ino, and Tenten saw the sullen look on Naruto's face, an expression that Sasuke and Neji did not notice.

But Hinata also noticed. "Umm… N-Naruto-kun?" she said softly.

The sound of her gentle voice broke though Naruto's puzzled thoughts. "H-huh? Oh—Hinata-chan." He forced a smile onto his face.

"Y-you look… sad, N-Naruto-kun." She cocked her head and looked at him, blushing slightly.

"Huh? Oh, uhh—it's nothing." He smiled again.

Hinata knew that this was indeed not Naruto's true smile. "N-Naruto-kun, a-are you sure? Because—"

"Really, I'm fine, Hinata-chan. But thanks for worrying." He smiled again, and this time it was sincere.

"Umm, if y-you s-say so," she stuttered, turning red at the sight of his smile.

Sakura was watching the whole thing stealthily. _Poor Naruto, _she thought sadly. _If only I could do something for him…_

And that's when it hit her. She smiled to herself. She wasn't Hinata, but she was still his friend, wasn't she?

* * *

The last periods of school were full of mixed emotions. Hinata was nervous about going to the dance with Sasuke, Sasuke was trying to ignore Neji, who was shouting at him every chance he got and glared at him the whole way, Shikamaru spent his time attempting to restrain Neji, with the help of Tenten, Ino made Shikamaru feel bad about his date as much as possible, and Sakura was planning her approach to Naruto.

Naruto, meanwhile, was unusually quiet the rest of the day, but what with the commotion his friends were making, they didn't seem to get the chance to noticed his mood swing. Hinata knew by his actions that he was not cheerful at all, but she was nervous about asking him about it again, in case it should annoy him. Sakura thought it best just to leave the heartbroken boy alone for the time being—that is, until afterschool.

"Naaarutooo," said Sakura in Naruto's ear as they walked through the campus.

He turned around. "Hmm?"

"You seem pretty bummed out. What's wrong?" She tried to keep it casual, so as to not attract the attention of their nearby friends.

"Eh—nothing's wrong." He turned to look at her, and shrugged.

Sakura sighed. "Well," she began. "The dance is Friday."

"Yeah…"

Silence. Sakura realized that he wasn't going to say more. She continued. "Well… I was thinking, I've always rejected you whenever you asked me to the middle school dances—"

Naruto finally laughed. "You _always_ do!"

She smiled. "Well, you're still so nice to me, so you know what? I wanna make it up to you."

Naruto looked at her and blinked. "Naruto Uzumaki, I know I must not be _anything _like the girl you really like, but... how about you and I go to this dance together this time?"

Naruto's jaw dropped open. "That is, if you want to," she added. "I mean, you don't—"

"YEAH!" cried Naruto. "That'd be AWESOME!" He leaned forward to hug her.

"Hey, hey, hey," she said, putting up a finger in front of his face, "remember. Just as friends. Got it?" She warned.

He smiled. "I know!" And then, he hugged her anyways. She smiled, glad that he seemed happy.

The rest of the gang turned to see Naruto jumping up and down happily and Sakura yelling at him to stop making a scene. "SAKURA-CHAN'S MY DATE FOR THE DANCE!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. "We got both of ours on the same day!"

"Yeah, but _I_ still won," pointed out Sasuke. "Beat you to it."

"So? Same day!"

"Doesn't matter!"

The two began to quarrel. The rest of the gang turned questioningly towards Sakura. She smiled, then winked at the girls. They smiled in return, understanding what she had done. But then she sighed, and said, "Sasuke, Naruto, you guys are _so_ immature!"

"Don't compare me to him!" cried Sasuke, pointing at a pouting Naruto.

"You're right," came in Neji, "you're _worse_ than him."

Apparently he was still quite mad.

Ino suddenly groaned out of nowhere. Everyone looked at her in surprise. "I'm the last one," she moaned. "This _sucks_!" She glared at Shikamaru especially.

He merely blinked.

"You'll get one tomorrow," said Tenten reassuringly, patting her back.

"She's r-right, Ino-chan," said Hinata. "Tomorrow's a b-better day." She blushed when she realized that Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto were watching her.

Neji smiled at his innocent cousin, Sasuke smiled at his dance date, and Naruto smiled regretfully at the girl he loved.

As they proceeded to the school exit, Naruto again went back to storming his confused thoughts. _Sasuke likes Hinata…? Why didn't I know that… and does Hinata like Sasuke? Is that why she accepted him? But still… it isn't like Hinata to easily turn someone down: she's too nice to have the guts to do that. But she seems happy… _He looked up at Hinata, who was giggling at something. He smiled. _But if she's happy with Sasuke, then… then I'm fine. I'm glad for her. Lucky Sasuke. He really does beat me at everything… Next time, Hinata-chan. Next time, I'll be the first to ask you.

* * *

_**So how was it? Hope you liked. Please REVIEW!**

**-Tawny**


	7. Preparation

_Naruto-kun must really like Sakura-chan… _This was all that Hinata could think about all night. _He seemed so happy when Sakura-chan asked him to the dance, so then it must be true… _Hinata sighed. That should have been expected, right? Naruto had always wanted to go out with Sakura, and now he finally had the chance to. Hinata smiled sadly. _At least he's happy,_ she thought before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

School on Thursday passed by quickly what with everyone talking about the Winter Dance, which was just the next day.

Ino was smiling brightly once she reached her friends that morning. "You look happy," remarked Tenten, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, what's up?" asked Sakura curiously.

"Ino-chan…?" Hinata cocked her head to the side.

"I...I…"

The girls stared at her.

"I…I GOT A DATE!" she squealed.

"REALLY?!"

"Well, yes, really." She frowned. "You guys sound surprised!"

"That's not it," said Sakura, "we're happy for you!"

"Yeah, I mean, you looked so bummed out yesterday," said Tenten.

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"So, what happened?" asked Sakura eagerly. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Well…he asked me out right when I got to school…it's that guy in our math and science class…you know, Chouji?"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Akimichi?!"

"Yeah, him!"

Tenten goggled at Ino.

"What?"

"Er, I dunno…I didn't think you were interested in Chouji, that's all."

"Well, he's not bad or anything. He's actually really nice and polite. Eats a bit too much, but other than that, he's…sweet." Ino shrugged. "I don't see any problem."

Hinata smiled. "Th-That's wonderful, Ino-chan!"

Sakura also smiled. "Yeah, it is. Now we've all got dates!"

Tenten punched the air with her fist. "See? What'd I tell you guys? We're HOT!"

* * *

"So…you're going with Sakura," started Sasuke, as the group of boys walked on their way to class.

"And you're going with Hinata-sama," said Neji grimly from behind. He had confronted Hinata at home about this matter himself, but all she had said was that she didn't want to reject Sasuke, and that it wasn't a bad thing at all. That had eased Neji up a bit: it didn't seem like his cousin actually _liked_ Sasuke.

"That I am," said Sasuke coolly, hands in pockets.

Shikamaru eyed Naruto suspiciously. "Naruto…?"

"Eh?" He looked up from staring at the floor.

"You all right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, fine, fine…"

"He's fine," said Sasuke. "He's just sad that I beat him at getting a date."

"Am not," said Naruto defiantly.

"Suuure."

"Shut up, Sasuke," said Shikamaru suddenly.

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru in surprise. "What?"

"Just…ugh. You don't get anything at all, do you?"

Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe you're not smarter than Naruto after all," he mumbled.

Sasuke didn't catch that.

They arrived at the door of their classroom. Neji sighed. "Class time," he said, and the group entered, not mentioning the conversation again.

* * *

Before they knew it, school was over. The girls were excitedly talking about which store they would visit first when they went to the mall. The boys did not bother to go shopping for clothes anywhere—they all claimed that they already had something suitable to wear. Plus, they didn't appear to be in quite a great mood.

Naruto was still confused about Sasuke and Hinata. Did they like each other? Would they be together even after the dance?

Shikamaru had not managed to do anything about Mika. He never was able to get an opportune chance to talk with her, and eventually he decided that he was too lazy to go find himself another date anyways. Besides that, he didn't really want to hurt her feelings, either. _It's just for the dance, just for the dance,_ he kept telling himself.

Neji was fine about his date, but was still cautious about Hinata going with Sasuke. He decided to inspect what she bought from the mall before she decided to wear it to the dance. Also, the tension that seemed to grasp at his friends was making him quite anxious as well, and he hated knowing that Naruto looked very unhappy.

Sasuke was pretty much satisfied with himself. He had asked Hinata to the dance, and she had said yes. And his friends all had their dates, didn't they? Everyone seemed content.

Or so it seemed.

* * *

"Gah, what about this one? Or this? No, how about _this?_" Ino squealed. She was going hysterical over all these dresses.

"They're all nice," said Tenten, "but I think I'll go with…this one!" She picked up a black dress with inch wide straps. Its front part went a little over her knees, while the back of it reached the floor, and it had a strip of golden, glittery detail running down the front.

"That's prefect for a dance," said Sakura, peering out between the crack in the fitting room door.

"Very pretty," commented Hinata, who was sitting on a chair and watching.

Ino nodded excitedly in agreement.

"Well, then, I think I'm taking this one," said Sakura from her fitting room.

Ino turned around from her rummaging to see Sakura step out in a pink satin dress that reached her ankles. It had a v-neck shape and exposed some of her back.

"Aww, it matches your hair!" acclaimed Ino.

"Cute," said Tenten.

"Y-You look very pretty, Sakura-chan," said a smiling Hinata.

"Thanks," replied Sakura to her friends.

"AHA!" cried Ino, lifting up a gown. "This is the one I want! Yes!" She jumped into the fitting room excitedly and came out just as fast, wearing a strapless black dress that hugged her upper body but flowed from the waist down to her ankles. A single white sash was around her waist, and Sakura helped her tie it from behind.

"Lovely!" said Sakura, clapping her hands in delight.

"Yeah," agreed Tenten. "You seem to be going all out for Chouji."

Ino couldn't help but blush.

Hinata smiled. "He'll love it."

Ino smiled back, but then frowned and said, "Hinata, where's your dress?"

"She hasn't chosen one yet," sighed Tenten, "because none of them have sleeves."

"Oh, come on, Hinata! Live a little!" cried Ino persuasively. "It's just for the dance!"

"Umm, but—"

"We _could_ find her a cardigan," suggested Sakura.

Hinata nodded eagerly, but Ino shook her head. "Hinataaaa, you've got to step out of your shell! How do you expect to get Naruto this way?"

Hinata turned bright red, and Ino bit her lip. "Sorry," she said, looking at Hinata apologetically, "but we can tell."

"S-So, you g-guys know?" she squeaked.

The girls nodded.

Hinata sighed. "I-I'm sorry for not t-telling you—"

"Aw, Hinata, don't apologize! It isn't your fault," said Tenten.

Sakura smiled. "Hinata-chan, it's all right. What matters now is trying to get you two lovebirds together."

"Yeah, he _could_ possibly like you, too, y'know," said Ino.

Ino, Sakura, and Tenten did not want to tell Hinata that Naruto liked her, for fear that they were wrong—after all, Naruto really hadn't said that he liked Hinata himself, though it did look rather obvious. Besides, it would be all the better if Naruto told her himself.

"Looks like we're just gonna have to get you guys together ourselves," said Tenten cheerily.

"Um, y-you g-guys shouldn't—" began Hinata helplessly.

"Oh, but we will," said Sakura, smirking. "We have been every chance we get!"

"H-huh?" Hinata paused for a moment. "W-Wait…you mean, w-when we taped that video with Naruto-kun and I—"

"Yup! It was all us!" said Ino happily.

Hinata looked faint.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Ahh! Hinata, don't faint on us now!"

"S-sorry…" She bit her lip. "You guys d-did that all for m-me…?"

"Of course we did," said Tenten, smiling, "and we're gonna keep doing it until our dear sweet Hinata gets the guy of her dreams!"

Hinata blushed again.

"So," said Sakura, still in the pink dress, "how about…this one?"

She pulled out a soft blue-colored gown that had halter straps designed with colored stones.

"Aw, Hinata, you would match this color perfectly!" cried Ino.

"Try it on!" urged Tenten, as Sakura began pushing Hinata into the fitting room.

Hinata's eyes widened at the sight of the dress. "B-But i-it's so—"

"Beautiful!" said Sakura, as she shoved the gown into Hinata's arms and pushed her into the fitting room. "Put it on!"

Hinata sighed from inside the room, but didn't say anything. After a few minutes, she said, "Umm, g-guys? Do I really h-have to—"

"Yes!" said the girls impatiently.

"Hinata, you'll look fine. Just come out!" said Sakura desperately.

"Hinata, get your butt out here," said Tenten.

"Hinata—" Ino began, but stopped when the door began to open.

Hinata opened the creaking door, and slowly stepped outside, looking down at her feet.

"AWW!" cried Ino delightfully. "Hinataaa! You are sooo cute!"

"Hinata, did you honestly think you'd look bad in that dress?" asked Sakura, checking the dress to make sure it was on correctly.

"Hinata, you are hot!" said Tenten.

Hinata blushed. "N-No—"

"Don't start denying it now!"

The dress flowed gracefully down Hinata's body and stopped short of her ankles. Sakura smiled. "Looks liked we have our dresses."

* * *

"What's _this_?!" asked Neji as he glared at the dress he picked up.

"Th-They wanted m-me to t-take it, nii-san," said Hinata nervously.

"Of all the dresses there are out there, it had to be _this_ one," grumbled Neji as he examined the dress. "You can see your neck, shoulders, arms, even your back—"

"I-I'm sorry, nii-san," said Hinata.

"Oh, come on, nii-san, chill out," said Hanabi as she entered the room. She turned to her sister. "Onee-san, I love that dress."

Hinata smiled. "Th-Thank you."

Neji muttered something incoherent before flinging the dress on Hinata's bed and storming out of the room. Hanabi and Hinata looked at each other and giggled.

* * *

The next day was all talk about the following night. School went on smoothly, but there was no P.E., as the gym was being turned into a winter wonderland just for the dance. Naruto was now feeling excited about the whole thing, but he couldn't tell why…until he found himself wondering about what Hinata was going to wear.

Sasuke, too, was wondering the same thing. Hinata was very modest, but he was sure he could count on the girls to make her wear something a bit showier.

Neji had finally stopped nagging at Sasuke about going with Hinata, and had even found himself asking Hinata which tie he should wear.

Shikamaru had nearly forgotten that there _was_ a dance, and had to go out to buy black pants the previous night since he found that his old ones had gotten a bit too short.

Basically, everyone was pretty worked up.

* * *

Ino slammed her hands onto the table during lunch. Everyone gave a start. "Chouji just told me that there's three new kids from the Sand here as transfer students!"

"I didn't see anyone new during our first four periods," said Sakura as she took another bite of her ramen.

"They just got here now, and I think they're in the office."

"Well, this should be interesting," said Neji.

* * *

It turned out that the three news kids were in their last two periods. "Everyone, I would like you all to meet our new students," introduced Shizune, "Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou." She turned to the red-haired boy. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

"Hn," said Gaara, and he went to take a seat.

"Great, another non-speaker," whispered Ino.

Shizune blinked, but Temari spoke. "Hello everyone. As you can see, my brothers and I are from the Sand. We've decided to stay in Konoha for a while, so we hope our stay is a pleasant one." Both she and Kankurou smiled, and then headed for their seats.

"Hey, Shikamaru, I think she was checking you out," whispered Sasuke.

"Mmm?" Shikamaru looked up from his nap.

The class watched the first part of _Romeo and Juliet_, and then it was time for English, where they had to write a reading response, while the new students introduced themselves once again and simply read while their classmates worked.

And with that, the gang's teachers allowed them to go free that Friday afternoon without any homework, giving them a happier spirit as they dashed on home to prepare themselves for the dance.

**FINALLY we're getting to the dance! Even I'm wondering what I'm gonna have happen... Hehe. Well, please review!**

**-Tawny**


	8. Winter Dance part 1

"Onee-san, you are so pretty," said Hanabi as Hinata slowly came out of her bedroom and into the hall

"Onee-san, you are _so_ pretty," said Hanabi as Hinata slowly came out of her bedroom and into the hall.

"Um, uh, th-thank you," stuttered Hinata with a blush.

"But it's missing something…how about some make-up?"

Hinata quickly nodded no.

"Oh, _come on,_ it's just for the dance! Maybe some eyeliner and—"

"N-No thank you, Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi sighed. "Fine, how about some lip gloss? You need _something _to impress that Sasuke of yours, and even if I don't get you to put something on your pretty face, then your friends will."

Hinata turned red. "H-Hanabi! Sasuke-kun isn't mine—we're just going as friends!"

"Mhm, sure. That's what they all say. You may not like him, Hinata-nee-san, but I'm sure he's got the hots for you. After all, who wouldn't like a girl like you?" Hanabi smiled smugly at her sister, arms folded.

Hinata's eyes widened. She hadn't really thought of that…she was actually hoping that Sasuke really was asking her out just as friends…but the way her sister talked about it was as if he really _did_ like her. What did the strong, cool Uchiha see in her, anyway?

"So, how about that make-up?" asked Hanabi again.

Hinata sighed. Hanabi was right about her friends: they _would_ force her to wear at least a little make-up on her face. "All right. B-But just the lip gloss, ok?"

Hanabi frowned. "Gah—fine."

"Hinata-sama," called Neji a few moments later. "Hinata—" He stopped abruptly when he saw Hinata nervously come out of her room, pressing her fingers together, a small blue purse swinging on her right arm.

Neji stared at her for a moment, making Hinata blush. Then he smirked and raised an eyebrow, apparently impressed with his cousin's appearance. "I gave her the lip gloss," said Hanabi proudly when she saw Neji's reaction.

"You look nice, Hinata-sama," complimented Neji. "All this for that Sasuke, huh?"

"Erm, uh, w-well," stuttered Hinata, not knowing what to say.

Hanabi came to the rescue. "She's a _girl,_ nii-san. She's got to look good at any party and at any dance, not just because she wants to show off for someone. Besides, you're _supposed_ to look nice at dances." She raised an eyebrow at Neji's attire. "Not that you would know—just look at your collar! Tsk tsk." Hanabi waved a finger at him.

Neji was wearing black pants and shoes, and realized that the collar of his dark purple dress shirt was crooked, and began to straighten it, only to fail pathetically.

Hanabi shook her head. "You're making it worse."

Hinata then uncertainly stepped forward and took the collar in her hands. Neji looked up in surprise at her daring action: she had used to be terrified of even seeing him, and now here she was, fixing his collar. "There," she said softly when she finished the job. She smiled nervously.

He smiled back. "Let's go, then."

Hinata nodded. Neji headed outside, and Hinata took the time to dash back into her room to snag her white cardigan. As she rummaged through her closet, she heard her sister call, "Tsk tsk, Hinata-nee-san."

Hinata whipped around to see Hanabi holding the cardigan, smirking. "Want it?"

Hinata smiled and nodded eagerly.

"Well then, too bad."

"Hanabi!"

"Oh come on, go and have a good time! Don't ruin it by worrying about what you're _wearing!_"

"B-But—"

"As your sister, I am being completely honest with you: you look fine!"

Neji called again.

"You might wanna get outta here before Otou-san sees what you're wearing. Knowing him, he might just disapprove."

Hinata's eyes widened, just as Neji called once more.

Hanabi ushered her sister out of room. "Go!"

* * *

Sakura was the first of the group to arrive at the dance that evening. The gym walls were decorated with streamers in soft colors, and paper snowflakes, with and without glitter, were hanging everywhere. Whoever had decorated the place certainly had done a good job in disguising the ordinary gym room into a winter wonderland.

She delicately walked over to the refreshment table in her lovely pink dress to get some punch, when she heard a voice from behind her. "Sakura."

She felt her heart skip a beat at he sound of _that_ voice, but managed to turn around. "Sasuke-kun!"

The Uchiha himself was standing there before her, clad in all black: his shoes, pants, dress shirt, tie—everything black. It was actually a very dashing sight, except for the fact that he looked a bit irritated. Sakura looked around for any fan girls, but couldn't find any. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"_That,_" grumbled Sasuke, motioning behind him.

She looked to where he was pointing and saw no other than Itachi Uchiha having a jolly good time reintroducing himself to his former teachers, all who seemed overjoyed to see him. "Uhh…what's he doing here?"

"Stupid idiot said he was a chaperone," said Sasuke in annoyance.

"Oh…well, that's nice."

"Not really."

"Hey Sasuke, isn't that your brother?" Tenten asked out of nowhere. Her usually messy bun was neatly tied up, and she wore a few silver charms in her hair, which went well with her black dress.

Sasuke mumbled something and went to get a drink. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Tenten, you look great!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Yeah? And what were you expecting?" Tenten giggled. "Besides, what about you, Miss Haruno? Love the headband!"

Sakura was wearing a white headband with a bow on top, which went well with her hair. She smiled in response to the comment.

"That cursed Neji is late," Tenten grumbled as she and Sakura went to join Sasuke in getting drinks.

"Well, so are the other guys," pointed out Sakura.

"Yeah, well, you can never expect that lazy Shikamaru and idiot Naruto to ever come on time," said Tenten.

"Hey, don't talk about my date like that," giggled Sakura.

"Oh, right, _sorry,_ I forgot," Tenten giggled back.

"Forgot what?" questioned Shikamaru's voice from behind.

The three turned to see Shikamaru, Naruto, Ino, and Chouji. Shikamaru was wearing a dark green dress shirt, with a black tie, pants, and shoes. Naruto was wearing all black like Sasuke, except for his exceptional bright orange tie. Ino was wearing the black dress she had bought and had her arm around Chouji's, who was wearing a maroon dress shirt, and a black tie, pants, and shoes.

"See you on the dance floor!" said Ino immediately, and she dragged Chouji to the middle of the gym, where there were already many people accumulated and dancing their hearts out.

"Wow…she seems excited," said Sakura, as the gang was rather bewildered by her immediate need to go dance.

"Well, at least she's happy," said Tenten. "I'd love to go dance too, but where the heck is that—"

"Me?" asked Neji as he entered the group's little circle. He had hastily put on his black tie in the car before he and Hinata had driven off.

Tenten eyed him up and down. "Yes…you." She smiled, and he returned it with his own. "You don't look half bad," she giggled.

"And you—" He stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say, obviously speechless. Then he smirked. "Bun looks nice for once," he said.

She scowled at him, and was about to thrash him, but he quickly took her hand and led her to the dance floor, and before he was out of earshot the gang heard him say, "You look lovely."

Sakura and Hinata giggled, Naruto gave a big laugh, and Sasuke and Shikamaru chuckled. "Shika-kuuun!" Mika called, and seemed to appear from nowhere. She grabbed the poor, unknowing Shikamaru's arm and took him away. The last they saw of Shikamaru was a pleading look which read, "Please save me."

"Poor Shikamaru," pitied Naruto.

Sasuke just shook his head.

"Yeah…" said Sakura pitifully, but then she turned to Naruto and smiled. "You look nice."

He blushed, and said, "You look pretty, Sakura-chan."

Sakura then realized his messed up tie. _He has horrible tying skills,_ she thought, frowning. And then her face lightened up when her maniacal brain popped in a new idea. "Naruto, what's with your tie?"

"Huh? Oh, uhh—"

"Here—let _Hinata_ fix that for you while, I, uh, get us some drinks!" She smiled and left the scene before anyone had a chance to say anything.

"Uhh, uhh." Hinata didn't know what to do. She really didn't want to faint… She looked up at Naruto, who was scratching his head, and she guessed that he was waiting for her to do something. She gulped, and, shaking a bit, forced herself to move forward.

Sasuke, meanwhile, didn't notice a thing. He didn't notice how hard it was for Hinata to get to Naruto, and how Naruto was getting all the more nervous the closer she got. He merely waited, watching his brother carefully to make sure he didn't pull any stupid stunt.

Hinata couldn't stop breathing heavily as she slowly lifted her hands and took a hold of Naruto's tie. Naruto's eyes widened at how close she was, and watched as her small, gentle hands loosened the strange knot he had put his tie into, and then began to tie it the correct way.

_Don't faint, don't faint… Oh, please, Hinata, don't faint…_ Hinata told herself, her face pink.

Naruto, too, was pink, but neither one noticed each other's nervousness during this awkward moment.

_Oh no… one side of it is shorter than the other,_ thought Hinata. The only way she'd be able to neatly tie was if she adjusted the tie around his neck. She swallowed hard. "Uhh, umm, N-Naruto-kun?" she said.

"H-Huh?" He snapped out of his daze.

"Um, c-could you p-please bend down a l-little?" she stammered. He was much taller than her, and she wouldn't be able to easily reach around his neck if he wasn't a bit closer.

"Oh, uh, sure," he said, and he bent over, and his head came even closer to hers.

Hinata hadn't seen this coming. She let out a small gasp, and he cocked his head. "Hinata-chan? Are you ok?"

She shook her head. "I-I'm fine," she replied, but then she bit her lip, in an effort to prevent herself from fainting. She then reached her arms across his shoulders, and her delicate hands brushed against his neck.

Naruto felt the contact and blushed, and Hinata was focused on straightening the tie and didn't notice, though she was blushing just the same. _Deep breaths…just breathe, Hinata,_ she continued to tell herself. She couldn't believe how close she was to him…and how close his face was from hers. She stood on her toes for a second in order to fold the tie under his collar, and Naruto found her body leaning inwards.

_Gah…Hinata…_ He growled to himself. She then went back to his front, and he straightened back up. She nearly messed up herself out of pure nervousness, but managed to pull the orange tie through the loop and was finished. She hesitated, then let go of his tie, and stepped back, looking down to hide her pink face. _Naruto-kun…why do you have to look so good in those clothes…?_ She stole a glance at him, and was mesmerized by how handsome he looked in just black clothes and his tie.

He, too, managed to steal a glance at her. _Hinata…you look so nice…_ he thought, noticing how she was actually showing skin this time around—and it wasn't even a _little_ skin: her dress exposed her upper parts and the creamy skin she always tried to hide. _Sasuke's so lucky…_

This nerve-wracking moment had only lasted a few minutes, but it had seemed like forever. Sakura had been secretly watching the whole thing off to the side, and when they had stepped apart from each other, she realized that she was supposed to be getting drinks. When she returned, she noticed that both of them looked very flustered. She giggled. "Ah, much better," she said when she examined Naruto's tie.

"Hehe…" said Naruto sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke then stepped back in. "I think that moron's _trying_ to embarrass me," he said, and they all turned to see Itachi dancing with a girl who looked half his height.

"Wow," said Naruto.

"Just don't let him get to you," suggested ever-helpful Sakura.

Sasuke sighed. "Yeah, you're right." He then reached out his hand.

Sakura's eyes widened and her heart began beating fast. _Is he asking me to—?_

"Hinata," he said.

Hinata blinked, but smiled gently and nervously took his hand. He looked down at her with soft eyes, and off they went to join Ino and the others.

Sakura looked down in disappointment. _What was I thinking? Hinata's his date, after all…_ But she perked up immediately, and turned to Naruto. Her face fell again when she saw the regretful look his face held. But then he turned to her as well and smiled. "Shall we, Sakura-chan?" He reached out his own hand.

She smiled. Naruto was…wonderful. She could sincerely think of him as her brother: someone who could unknowingly make her forget about the bad things. She accepted his hand, and after he guzzled down a cup of punch with his other hand, he excitedly led her to dance.

* * *

The girls all happened to be wearing white heels, and they elegantly danced in them alongside their clumsy partners.

"Neji!" cried Tenten, after he stepped on her foot for the third time.

"Gah—I'm sorry," he apologized once again.

"Chouji, move like _this, _not like that," directed Ino, as she made him focus on his feet rather than the food table.

"Now try twirling again," said Sakura, as Naruto grabbed her hand again and attempted to spin her without making her fall into a nearby Sasuke again (upon which she had stuttered just like Hinata and turned away in embarrassment).

Sasuke was doing a moderately good job. His family had been invited to many parties of all sorts, and there he had learned how to hone his dancing abilities. Now that he felt that he and Hinata were dancing nicely at about the same pace, he looked up at her tender face and studied her features intently.

Hinata could feel the pressure of his eyes on her, and she looked up curiously, only to find charcoal-black eyes staring into her clear ones. "S-Sasuke-kun?" she stuttered.

"Er, uh, sorry," he said, looking away. "You…you look…" He sighed. "Great."

She blushed. "Th-Thank you," she said softly.

He looked at her again, and smiled as a cute blush colored her porcelain face. _She's beautiful,_ he thought to himself. Then he growled. _Neji's going to hate me…_

"Wanna go get a drink?" he asked.

"Um, s-sure," she said, smiling.

They both left the dance floor, and reached the refreshment stand, where he poured himself and Hinata two cups of punch. They then sat down in two empty chairs, of which were all lined up against the walls of the gym.

"Th-They've done a n-nice job decorating, haven't they?" said Hinata before she took a sip of her punch.

"Yeah," agreed Sasuke, looking around. He couldn't help but notice the nice contrast between the soft, white scenery and Hinata's appearance. He glanced at her. She looked nice in this gentle winter theme. He growled.

She heard him and gave him a questioning look. He simply shrugged, then said, upon looking up at the clock, "Wow, we've been dancing for over an hour straight."

"W-Well, half the time we were busy running into everyone," she giggled.

He smiled. "Yeah, that's true." _Make her laugh again… _

* * *

"Shikaaa, put her arms _here—around_ my waist!" ordered Mika, and Shikamaru groaned, but did what he was told.

While he was lazily dancing with Mika, he recognized three latecomers enter the gym. He lifted his head up for a better view, and realized that they were no other than the three new Sand siblings. _Hn…she looks good…_ he thought to himself, as he watched the dirty blonde of the three, Temari, stride casually into the mass of dancing students, wearing a lavender-colored dress with ruffles at the hem. Kankurou, wearing a simple white shirt, and black tie, pants, and shoes, followed close behind, along with Gaara, who seemed uncomfortable in his similar attire, except that his tie was dark red.

"Oh, _Shika-kun_," whined Mika, "you really don't know how to dance, do you?"

"Erm, no," he answered. _Or maybe I'm just not really trying…_ "Er, listen, how about you go dance with someone who actually knows how—"

"And where are you going?" asked Mika suspiciously. She was actually an observant girl, as she had caught Shikamaru watching the three Sand newcomers arrive. She had a pretty good idea of where he would be going, and she did not want that happening. "Stay with _me,_" she pleaded babyishly. "Huh, _Shika-kun?_"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. _What do I do…_ he thought helplessly. But the genius suddenly smiled to himself, knowing exactly what to do. "But Mika, I just really, _really_ don't want to get you sick," he said, trying to sound as sweet as he could.

"Oh. _Really, Shika-kun?_" She leaned in closer, but Shikamaru leaned his head back.

"Er, yeah, of course," he said. "I—I—AH-CHOO!" He suddenly brought out his fake sneeze.

Mika jumped out of his arms in surprise. "Oh, wow, uh, you sound really sick," she said.

He nodded, almost too eagerly. "Well, if you care _that_ much," she said.

Shikamaru left before she could say anything else.

* * *

**So while I was typing this, I started getting the feeling that this chapter was getting a little too long... So I decided to make the dance have 2 parts to it. Hope you don't mind! So please review and I hope you liked it! :D**

**-Tawny**


	9. Winter Dance part 2

Sasuke and Hinata were dancing again, just as their friends decided to take a break. Naruto handed Sakura a cup of punch and then sat down by her. The two of them tried their best not to watch their crushes dancing with another, but it was just too hard. Naruto found himself daydreaming of what it would be like to be in Sasuke's place, and Sakura did the same, except wishing she were in Hinata's place.

After a few moments, Naruto peered around. "Ino and Chouji are here, but where're Neji and Tenten?"

"Probably making out," sighed Sakura, still watching Sasuke.

"WHAT? SERIOUSLY?!"

Sakura whacked the blonde's head. "Quiet, Naruto! I wasn't serious!"

"Oh," said Naruto, rubbing his head, scrunching up his face as he looked around again. "Oi, look—isn't that Gaara and Kankurou?"

Sakura followed where Naruto was pointing and raised an eyebrow. "Not to mention Shikamaru with Temari."

The small group approached them. "HEY!" said Naruto cheerfully.

"Dope," sighed Shikamaru.

Temari smiled. "Hey."

Sakura looked around. "Shikamaru, where's Mi—"

"I've been sick," said Shikamaru quickly. "And apparently the cold kicked in now."

"Oh, Shikamaru! That's terrible! You just left her like that?"

He shrugged. "Yeah…honestly, _she's _the bad dancer."

"Hopefully I'm not," said Temari, smiling at him. "Well?"

He sighed. "Women are so troublesome…" And with that, he followed Temari to the dance floor.

"Wow, they're getting off to a great start," said Sakura as she watched them leave. Then she turned to the other boys. "Well, you guys are looking nice—trying to get a girl as soon as you got here, huh?"

"Yeah right," said Kankurou, hands in pockets. "Temari's the one who really wanted to come, and I have a feeling it was to see that friend of yours." He motioned to where Shikamaru was.

"She also said it was a good way to make some friends," Gaara spoke.

Sakura and Naruto turned to him in surprise. Compared to the other two Sand siblings, they had noticed that Gaara was not one to talk during class or any other time for that matter, except perhaps to his siblings. It was almost honorable to have him speak to you.

"Well about time!" said Naruto happily. "So, you're Gaara, right? How's the Sand Village? How do you like Konoha? Why did you have to come here? Where are you staying? Hey, what—"

Sakura smacked him. "Shut it!" she snapped. "One question at a time! I doubt he even heard anything you just said!" She sighed as Naruto started pouting. "Sorry about him," she apologized. "He obviously gets excited when meeting new people."

Kankurou laughed. "I'll say! What a big mouth! Did you hear _anything_ he said, Gaara?"

"No." Gaara shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably.

Sakura giggled. "Adjusting to your clothes?"

"Hn," he mumbled, as he began to retie his tie.

Ino and Chouji walked on over with a plate of chips. "Want some?" Chouji offered.

"All right, way to go, Chouji!" said Naruto, grabbing a handful and stuffing it into his mouth.

Kankurou and Gaara's eyes widened as Naruto began to chew.

"Unbelievable," said Ino, sipping some punch.

Sakura sighed again. "One, two…three."

Sakura had timed correctly, for at that moment Naruto began waving his arms wildly.

Hinata looked past Sasuke's head and noticed Naruto's flailing from where she was dancing. Sasuke looked to see what she was gazing at, and then saw the group, including the Sand newcomers, watching Naruto. "What's gotten into him?" Sasuke said.

"I-I don't know," said Hinata, cocking her head.

"Come on—let's see what's up before that idiot kills himself."

Hinata looked nervously at the two Sand boys. "Umm…"

Sasuke smiled. "Come on, Hinata, you're too shy."

Hinata pressed her fingers together.

"Come on," he encouraged.

She finally nodded and they both walked over to the strange scene.

"What's he saying?" asked Kankurou as Naruto continued to jump around.

"WRUNCH! WRUUUNCH!" garbled Naruto, his mouth obviously full.

Ino put her hand to her chin detective style. "Hmm…wrench? Lunch?" She turned to the rest of the group, but they just shrugged.

"Just go get the punch yourself, dummy," said Sasuke as he arrived.

"N-Naruto-kun…?" Hinata looked worriedly at Naruto, whose eyes seemed to be watering.

"WO WRUNCH! WO WRUNCH!" Naruto pointed to the table. They all turned and saw that the punch bowl was empty.

"Uh-oh," said Kankurou, eyes wide. "Now what do we—"

"AHH!"

They turned again to see Mika, looking outraged, glaring at Naruto, who was gulping down a full cup of punch. "Naruto, you idiot! That was mine!" she steamed.

Naruto finished the cup, sighed in relief, and tossed it into the trash can. "Thanks, Mika-chan!"

"Thanks?! I didn't say you could take it!" She looked like she was about to throttle him, until something else caught her eye.

"Oh, _hello,_" she said, smiling sweetly, and walking right past them all in her just-above-the-knees yellow strapless dress to Gaara. "And just who might you be, handsome?" she asked, practically shoving her face up to his.

Gaara blinked.

"If you were too stupid to notice, that happens to be one of the three new Sand transfer students," said Ino, glaring.

"Oh? We had new students?" asked Mika, blinking. "Why wasn't I informed?"

"You never pay attention in class, Mika. You're always too busy drooling over guys who will never have you."

"Ino…" Sakura warned.

It was Mika's turn to glare. "You're just jealous because Shika-kun chose _me_ over boring old _you._"

"What was that?" said Ino, steaming up, and taking a step forward.

"You heard me."

"Ino…" Chouji took her hand to hold her back.

Mika snorted. "Aw, how sweet, Akimichi cares. What a lovely pair. A pig for a pig."

Ino was about ready to thrash her, but Chouji, with a firm face, held her back.

Mika shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said, "but as a friend, I was only being brutally honest."

"Friend?!" said Sakura, her temper rising. "You're nothing but a—a—wannabe! The only thing you care about is having all the guys fall head over heels for you! Well, let me tell you something—Ino's not the loser here. She has someone who likes her and who she likes back! And look at you, Mika. What do you have?" She pointed to the crowded dance floor. "Shikamaru couldn't even take you for one night!"

Mika's mouth dropped open, but then she closed it. Then she turned to Sasuke's direction. "I was wondering who you could've chosen over my friend Fanny for the dance." She eyed Hinata, and poor Hinata, being a bit afraid of the girl, involuntarily stepped back behind Sasuke. Mika smirked. "Why her, of all girls, Sasuke-kun? She may be a Hyuuga, but Fanny has tried _so_ hard to try and get you—notes, candy—"

"That's just the problem, isn't it?" said Sasuke coldly. "You guys never behave like _yourselves_—you're just acting like some—some extreme make-up wearing—"

"_Excuse me?_ Which girl here _isn't _wearing make-up?" asked Mika. "Even Hinata is!"

Hinata shrunk.

"At least she looks good in it," put in Naruto, whose temper was now flaring. He was not enjoying Mika's attitude.

"Oh, come on, Uzumaki, you're probably _dying_ to know how it feels like to dance with me."

Sakura had had it. She advanced, preparing to slap the girl, when she felt someone pulling her arm back. It was Naruto. He was shaking his head no. She sighed.

"Something wrong?" asked Tenten to her friends, who had just arrived with Neji.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" sneered Mika. But she seemed to finally notice how she was outnumbered. She sighed. "You all are just sad. Just really pathetic, you know?" She was obviously mad, but she attempted to keep up her "cool" appearance. She turned back to Gaara. "My parents always told me to keep from hanging out with the wrong crowd. So…how about we go dance?"

"Funny, we were taught that in the Sand Village, too," said Kankurou in annoyance. "Guess you know what that means." He looked at Gaara and nodded his head in a way of saying, "Come over here."

Gaara nodded, and obediently went to his brother, leaving Mika alone. She turned to the group, scowling, and said to Gaara, "Aren't you a little too old to be following orders from your brother?"

"Sorry, I was just keeping away from the wrong crowd," he said apologetically, though his face showed no emotion.

Naruto gave a big laugh. "Sorry Mika-chan, but…YOU JUST GOT TOLD!" He started laughing his head off.

Hinata giggled, and Sakura muttered, "Baka," as she placed her hand on her forehead.

"May I ask if you would like to dance, beautiful?" asked Itachi from behind Mika. He had just randomly walked on over there.

"No, I would _not _like to—" began Mika furiously as she turned around, but a smile crept onto her face when she saw the gentlemanly Uchiha. She looked him over, and then said, "Of course." He then took her hand and led her away, and just before disappearing into the mass of teenagers, she turned to the group with an expression of smugness.

"Oh, hell no," muttered Sasuke, and he left Hinata's side to go stalk down his brother.

"Wow," said Kankurou, turning back to the group. "You guys know some pretty interesting people."

"Oh, please, Mika has never been interesting," snorted Ino.

"And Sakura was just about to pummel her," giggled Tenten, and Sakura laughed innocently.

"Sorry, guys," apologized Naruto. "I shouldn't have taken her drink." He scratched his head.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault you were dying," said Kankurou, amused.

"Yeah, and besides, Mika would behave that way even if you didn't happen to steal her drink," said Tenten.

"Yeah," agreed Sakura. "But I hope you've learned your lesson! Don't eat too much at a time!"

"Yeah, you idiot," said Ino, shaking her head.

Naruto laughed nervously, and as usual, Hinata giggled.

Sasuke came back in time to see Hinata's smile. He unknowingly smiled himself, while also unknowingly flipping Sakura's heart in the process. _She's so cute… Gah, I can't take this anymore…_ Sasuke sighed in frustration as his heart continued to egg him on to do something he actually really wanted to do. Something that would make Neji want to murder him and then toss him in a dumpster without a burial for.

Everyone turned to him when they heard his sigh. "So, where's Itachi?" asked Naruto.

"I managed to tell him about Mika, and then he goes and tells her that something has just come up and leaves her hanging." Then he smirked. "You should have seen her face. She was stunned."

The group had to laugh at that, just as Shikamaru and Temari came back to join them.

"You'd better go find your original date, Shikamaru, 'cause she's probably furious," said Sakura.

Shikamaru gave them a questioning look, and Ino said, "Let's just say she got rejected—like, twice." She laughed.

Shikamaru's eyes widened, and then he groaned. "Why'd you guys have to do that for?" And with that, he left to go find her before she could find him and possibly kill him.

"Well, I'm still up for dancing," Temari said as she watched Shikamaru go. She turned back to the group and eyed the boy closest to her, who was Sasuke. "Well, what do you say, Uchiha? Think you can charm a Sand girl?"

Sasuke hesitated. Of course he could charm a Sand girl—couldn't he? It wasn't like he could just refuse this little challenge. But he couldn't just leave Hinata behind. "Er, uh."

Temari noticed his hesitation as he looked to her to Hinata and then back again. She smiled, then turned to her brothers, only to find that Kankurou was missing. "Where'd he go?" she asked Gaara, who pointed behind him where Kankurou was asking a random girl for a dance. "Wow," said Temari. She turned back to Gaara. "Dance with Hinata-chan here, Gaara, all right?"

Hinata's eyes widened and Gaara merely blinked at his sister.

"Don't worry about him," assured Sasuke to Hinata. "I doubt he knows how to dance. You can teach him."

And with that, our gang was back on the dance floor again.

* * *

Hinata and Gaara stumbled along while everyone else was doing pretty well. After having stood apart awkwardly from each other for minutes, Hinata shyly had spoken up and her soft voice seemed to have broken through to him. Now here they were, along with everyone else, attempting to dance. Anyone would have been proud of Hinata, considering that her partner was the silent, green-eyed Sand boy.

Sasuke had found that Temari was actually quite the dancer, especially compared to her brothers. They had an enjoyable time dancing to two songs, until Sasuke found himself yearning to be with Hinata again. Temari, being the sharp-minded girl she is, could tell instantly, and decided that it would be fine for her to dance with her own brother. "Hey, you should head back to Hinata," said Temari with a smile as the second song ended. "Besides, I really think that as an older sister, I should teach my brother how to dance." She jerked her head in the direction of Gaara and Hinata, and Sasuke turned just in time to see Gaara step on her foot. He nodded quickly in agreement and he hurried over to save Hinata from Gaara's clumsy wrath.

"I'm sorry," apologized Gaara for what must have been the hundredth time. "I shouldn't even be dancing."

"D-Don't worry, Gaara-kun," reassured Hinata, "y-you're d-doing fine."

"Hinata, you look beat," said Sasuke once he and Temari arrived. "Wanna step outside for bit?"

"Yeah, I'll take over from here, Hinata-chan," said Temari. "I hope he didn't hurt you too bad." She smirked at her brother, who looked away in embarrassment.

Hinata smiled. "G-Gaara-kun is improving."

Temari laughed. "That's good to hear. Hear that, Gaara? You're not so bad after all!"

Gaara appeared to scratch his head Naruto-style and then quickly went off to the food table. Temari laughed once more. "See you two later," she said, and then went off after the red-head.

* * *

"I-It feels nice out here," said Hinata softly as she accepted the drink Sasuke handed to her.

"Yeah, it does," he agreed, as they both leaned against the gym wall.

They had decided to come out of the stuffy gym for a breath of fresh air, and it was certainly relieving to the senses. It was dark out, and the stars and moon shone high overhead in the silent night. A few other couples had also decided to relax outside, and as Sasuke and Hinata had passed them on their way to find their own private spot, they noticed that most of them had been kissing. This had caused Hinata to blush and both she and Sasuke had looked away, but not before Sasuke seriously considered his next motive.

Hinata took a sip of her punch and then sighed as a cool breeze blew by. Sasuke, too, took a sip of his own drink and then turned to Hinata. That's when he nearly dropped his cup of punch. Hinata looked absolutely angelic as the wind blew her raven locks back and the bright light of the moon shined onto her, making her tender face glow. And then, as though she could not look any prettier, she felt his gaze on her and so turned to face him, and gentle lavender eyes looked curiously into his dark ones.

Sasuke was mesmerized. He felt as though caught in a trance, but he didn't want to leave it. From there, everything seemed to happen both quickly and automatically. Sasuke _did_ drop his punch cup (lucky for them that he had already drunken it all) and then advanced towards Hinata, so that there was barely any space between them. Hinata's eyes widened and she felt stuck to her place as Sasuke looked at her with intense eyes.

"S-Sasuke-kun…?" she whispered, almost afraid to speak any louder.

Sasuke's hand left his side and rose to Hinata's face, where he felt her smooth cheek, as if to verify that it was, in fact, really there. "Hinata…" he said softly, refusing to take his hand back. Before unknowing Hinata knew it, he had taken one final step towards her, so that she was forced against the wall, and then he swiftly lifted up her face with his hand. "I…like you a lot, Hinata," he said hesitantly, though never allowing his eyes to leave her face. "More than you know."

* * *

Naruto gulped down two cups of punch and then tossed them into the trash can. "Phew…we danced a lot, Sakura-chan!" He wiped his brow with his sleeve.

Unlike Naruto, Sakura sipped her punch in a sophisticated manner, but smiled at Naruto in agreement. "And you're getting better and better."

"Hehe…" Naruto scratched his head as he swayed uneasily back and forth.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Naruto, are you all right?"

"Er…yeah…well, I think," he began, and then took a deep breath. "I think I drank too much punch."

Sakura laughed. "Don't worry, it's not like someone's going to steal me away—go and use the restroom!"

Naruto looked at Sakura thankfully, nodded his head, and then rushed off.

* * *

It wasn't until a few minutes later that he realized that he wasn't sure where the gym restrooms were, especially with all the decorations masking the room into a place that seemed unfamiliar. He couldn't tell which door was which. There were a few doors along the side where he was walking, and hopefully one of them was the men's restroom. Naruto could only hope that he didn't accidentally walk into the women's restroom. After all, what could be worse than that?

* * *

Hinata was stunned for a moment or two. Sasuke…liked her? That seemed impossible, or at least very unlikely. But she could feel her heart racing and aching at the same time as he told her this, but from there she felt powerless as Sasuke leaned in closer, their faces a mere few inches apart. She couldn't help but give a small whimper, but Sasuke was too preoccupied to notice her little protest. He had one hand on her face and the other against the wall next to an emergency exit door, practically preventing her from escaping. He growled as their lips came close to touching, Hinata's nervous breaths leaving her and prickling his face.

Sasuke brought himself in for the kiss when suddenly the nearby door opened. At first only a shadow was visible as light filtered out from indoors, but that was soon followed by the owner of that shadow—none other than Naruto Uzumaki.

"Hmm, this isn't it either…" Naruto was looking to the right, and upon looking to the left his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Uh, erm, um…" He awkwardly scratched his head but quickly averted his blue eyes, of which looked downcast. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to barge in like that…" His voice cracked at the end, and he didn't have more to say. He could have demanded what Sasuke was doing to Hinata, but that was actually kind of obvious, even for dense Naruto. And besides, Hinata appeared to like Sasuke very much…why ruin their moment with his idiocy? So with that in mind, Naruto, though in a clumsy way, managed to shuffle back through the way in which he came.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata only managed to squeak, but either way, Naruto had shut the door by then. He attempted to walk through his peers calmly, but his eyes were not shining bright blue with excitement anymore, and he kept his gaze on the floor. He ran into a random boy, who began to complain at Naruto, calling him "the idiot Uzumaki," but rather than yelling back at the boy as he would have done, Naruto only uttered a "Sorry," and went on his way, not knowing exactly where he was headed, and left the boy standing there confused.

But one thing was certain: trying to find the restroom was definitely the last thing on Naruto's mind right now.

* * *

**I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated! Also sorry about this chapter being a bit long, but a big thank you to all those readers who have taken the time to read my work. So tell me how it was and review please! :D**

**-Tawny**


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